Big West titles, All-America honors cap off a big year for Long Beach State
Making Waves is a monthly column that celebrates accomplishments of the CSULB community.
Track star resets school record, earns first team All-America honors
Fourth-year student Ryan Gregory, a Big West decathlon champion, reset his own Long Beach State decathlon record and earned first-team All-America honors at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships this month at the University of Oregon. Gregory, a human development major, is the first Long Beach State decathlete to earn first-team honors since 2021. Also winning All-America honors in the men’s long jump was Steven Evans-Glynn, a first-year business major who obtained an honorable mention.
A host of Long Beach State athletes won Big West championships this past school year, while Gregory was named Big West Men’s Field Athlete of the Year, and Evans-Glynn was selected as Big West Men’s Freshman Athlete of the Year. The individual and team Big West winners were:
Staff honored with President’s Employee of the Year Awards
The President’s Awards for Staff Employees of the Year and Team Achievement Award, presented June 16 at The Pointe, recognized employees for outstanding service and significant contributions to the campus community. Sandy Jimenez, area coordinator for Parkside Central in Housing & Residential Life, received Employee of the Year for Inclusive Excellence. Scot Woodyard, a software solutions architect in the Division of Information Technology, received Employee of the Year for Innovation. Jason Deutschman, associate director of advising in the College of Engineering’s Student Success Center, was recognized for Leadership. Michelle Linton, a counselor in the Career Development Center, Student Affairs, was honored for Student Success. The Team Achievement Award went to the BeAChampion Team/Campus Assessment & Stabilization Team, representing the divisions of Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and Athletics.
Awards recognize and celebrate women of 2026
Karyn Scissum Gunn, provost and senior vice president of academic affairs, was the inaugural recipient of the Dr. Jane Close Conoley Leadership Award at the Women’s Recognition Celebration Awards, held May 6 at The Pointe. The awards were selected by the President’s Commission on the Status of Women. Other recipients of PCSW's Advancement of Women Awards were: Terri Armstrong, assistant director of University Access; Donna Nicol, (then) associate dean for personnel and curriculum and incoming dean, College of Liberal Arts; Felicia Montes, an assistant professor in Chicano and Latino Studies; and Heart of Ida, a Long Beach-based nonprofit that received a Community Organization Award.
At the same event, the Women’s & Gender Equity Center presented Jennifer Marshall, secretary of the Sociology Student Organization, with an Empowerment Award for Outstanding Womxn Leader, and Zoe Hosea, founder and president of the Black Health Professionals Organization, along with Z’Nya Spears, vice president, with a Leadership Achievement Award for Outstanding Student Organization.
BEACONS mini-grants recognize sustainability projects
Three faculty members have received the inaugural BEACONS mini-grants, a new initiative designed to expand sustainability-focused research and creative activity across disciplines. Jonathan Pando Ocón, an assistant professor in geography, will lead the project, “Native Oaks at Risk: Student-Led Remote Sensing for Climate Resilience and Goldspotted Oak Borer Monitoring in Southern California.” Kent Hayward, an associate professor in Cinematic Arts, will create the experimental documentary, “Footprint: a film essay on what we leave behind.” Brett Mizelle, a professor in history and American Studies, will examine sustainability in “Rodents of unusual size.” BEACONS – which stands for Beach Environmental Action for Climate, Our Neighbors & Sustainability – was created by the President’s Commission on Sustainability, in partnership with the Leadership Fellows Program.
CSULB wins state jazz championship for second consecutive year
The Bob Cole Conservatory of Music’s Concert Jazz Orchestra took top honors at the California State Jazz Championships, held April 24-25 in Folsom. In a two-day series of workshops, performances and judging, the Concert Jazz Orchestra – under the leadership of Professor Jeff Jarvis – took home the top prize, and is the jazz champion of the Golden State for the second year in a row.
May Employee of the Month: Academic advisor Gabe Rodriguez
Gabe Rodriguez, an academic advisor in the College of Education, has been named CSULB’s Employee of the Month for May 2026. He was recognized for his dedication to student success and his innovative efforts to reduce barriers for transfer students. Rodriguez brings more than 21 years of service to the university, including 11 years of supporting future educators. Rodriguez took the initiative to redesign the summer registration process, which has proven particularly helpful to first-generation transfer students. Rodriguez’s work has also strengthened collaboration across campus, resulting in “stronger working relationships with our partners” in key departments, according to the nomination. Rodriguez was honored May 13 at Friendship Walk, joined by President Loren J. Blanchard, College of Education Dean Anna Ortiz and Liberal Studies department chair Nat Hansuvadha.
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