Provost's Message - February 20, 2019

 Message From Provost Jersky

Provost Brian Jersky

Dear Campus Community,

As many of you are aware, February is Black History Month. For this month’s message, I would like to take a moment to reflect on our past and honor those that stood up for rights for all.

Going forward we continue to make a concerted effort to ensure that one of our core tenets, ‘inclusive excellence,’ is reflected all throughout campus. As I mentioned before, chairs, faculty, administrators and staff came together and established a clear goal to increase faculty diversity on our campus.

This committee created immediate, medium and long-term objectives to accomplish our ambitious plans. Over the next few months and years, Academic Affairs will execute a plan for pipeline, recruitment and retention to increase faculty diversity. Thank you again for the committee and attendees for their deep commitment to create an inclusive excellence campus. 

Student Profile

I recently had the pleasure of meeting with Samantha Johnson, a senior Marine Biology student in CNSM. What I appreciated most about our time together was her unique perspective on her future. She loves science but wants to get her master’s in science illustration. This unique combination of talents represents the true diversity our campus reflects every day. She credits her upbringing and her education at CSULB for helping her determine her future.  

Samantha Johnson

“Growing up in the LA county area I felt like I didn’t fit in,” adds Samantha. “My dad is black and my mom is half Mexican and half Native American. I didn’t feel I like belonged to one particular ethnicity, and most days I felt that I was not enough of one group to belong.”

This struggle led her to questions where she fit in not only in her education, but society as a whole. That all changed when she visited our campus when she was applying to colleges.

“What stood out to me the moment I stepped on campus was the diversity of the students,” comments Samantha. “I also loved how close to the ocean the campus was since I wanted to pursue Marine Biology. After my visit, I knew I wanted to go to CSULB and that I had found my place.”

During her time on campus, Samantha has come to appreciate and love our diversity. Samantha feels respected and appreciated in her classes by faculty and students and has felt her ‘differences’ blend seamlessly into our multi-faceted community.

Samantha Johnson
Over the past four years, Samantha has been involved in several areas on campus including an American Indian Student club, a resident advisor for two years, as well as an animal husbandry internship at the Aquarium of the Pacific. Through all of these experiences, she also developed her love of the artistic side of science. Her combined love of animals, science and art led her to apply to the graduate program at CSU Monterey Bay in the Science Illustration Certificate Program. She hopes to one day create scientific renderings for academic science books.

The only future wish she shared for our campus is to have more diversity in the faculty. “Since my classes were primarily taught by white, male faculty, I would love to see more women of color represented in science,” adds Samantha. “I think more faculty of color would encourage more diverse students to pursue higher education.”

Samantha leaves this last bit of advice for upcoming students – get involved on campus. She credits flourishing in her rigorous program with reaching out to her support system. She believes they cheered her on when she wanted to quit, and showed her that she had the grit and determination to survive the tough classes. She also said it is normal to be overwhelmed and cry in frustration. “Find your people and faculty to help you get through the tough times – they make all the difference,” add Samantha.

Thank you, Samantha, for sharing your journey with us all. We know you will inspire future and current students. We wish you continued success and know you will represent to the outside community how amazing our CSULB students truly are.

Brian Jersky
Provost and Senior Vice President

News

Academic Affairs News

In Memoriam

Dr. Donald J. Reish passed away July 29, 2018. He was an emeritus faculty from CNSM and parent of a CSULB graduate.

Grants

Nancy Meyer-Adams. UCCF-UCLA/DCFS Title IV-E Training/Stipend Program 2018-2021 (Years 28-31). UCCF UCLA/ DCFS Title IV-E Training Stipend Programs. CHHS. Social Work. Total Award: $1,260,160. (October 2018 - June 2019)

Erin Booth-Caro. Workability IV Program. California Department of Rehabilitation. SA. Career Development Center. Total Award: $734,334. (July 2018 - June 2021)

Hamid Rahai. Transportation Research & Training (TRANSPORT) SB2. San Jose State University. COE. College of Engineering. Total Award: $274,530. (January 2019 - December 2019)

Carolina Marrujo. LACOE Intern Program 2018. LACOE. SA. Ed Equi Serv Stud Sup Administration. Total Award: $10,000. (October 2018 - June 2019)

Deepali Bhandari. Novel Insights into Cancer Cell Survival During Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress. NIH NIGMS. CNSM. Chemistry & Biochemistry. Total Award: $147,500. (July 2017 - December 2019)

Thomas O'Brien. National Center for Sustainable Transportation. USC/Metrans. CCPE. Center for International Trade & Transportation. Total Award: $140,000. (December 2016 - September 2019)

The next Provost’s Message will be published on Wednesday, March 20th. Items for the upcoming message should be submitted by Friday, March 15th, to aa-communication@csulb.edu.