News Roundup

• CSULB Dance Faculty Member Wins Dance Competition - CSULB Dance Faculty Danzel Thompson-Stout won the Freestyle Session Worldwide 2024 Dance Competition World Championship in House last month. Danzel also brings his experiences and contacts as a dancer on the Usher tour to his students and classroom.
   
• BCCM Vocal Jazz Ensemble Featured on Radio Program - Pacific Standard Time, the top award-winning vocal jazz ensemble from the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music, was featured on KPCC's LAist radio program. Pacific Standard Time is raising funds for a cultural exchange trip to Cuba.

• CSULB BIG Students Win 2024 CFAOCF RFP Competition - The Beach Investment Group (BIG) at California State University, Long Beach's College of Business has once again demonstrated its excellence in investment management education. BIG students earned top honors at the 2024 CFA Society of Orange County Foundation's (CFAOCF) Request for Proposal (RFP) Competition for Student Managed Investment Funds (SMI). This prestigious event highlights the talents of the next generation of financial professionals.

  The CFAOCF RFP competition challenges student teams to prepare and present a comprehensive proposal for managing a portfolio that averages about $115,000, simulating the rigorous process institutional asset managers use. Competing against teams from other universities, CSULB students showcased their deep financial expertise, strategic thinking, and real-world experience gained through the hands-on management of BIG's investment portfolio. Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State Fullerton finished second and third, respectively, followed by UC Irvine, Biola, and UC Riverside.

  This is the 30th year the Beach Investment Group (formerly the Student Managed Investment Fund) and students will manage a portfolio of assets, which, at $1.6 million, is the largest in the group’s history. 

  Thanks to the efforts and vision of Dr. Richard Runyon and the commitment and dedication of Dr. Peter Ammermann, the BIG program has continued to grow and impact students. 

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• New Website Empowers Educators to Close Opportunity Gaps - The CSU Center to Close the Opportunity Gap (CCOG) has launched its Clearinghouse featuring resources that boost academic achievement and overall well-being among California students, and it is inviting educators to contribute. 

  The CCOG Clearinghouse includes programs, practices and policies shown to close opportunity gaps among students of all ages, from pre-kindergarten through college, especially those from marginalized communities. 

  Educators and administrators are encouraged to submit initiatives that focus on the whole student, meaning not only academic success but also their social-emotional and behavioral health and college- and career-readiness.

No college updates at this time.

No college updates at this time.

• Remembering Dee Abrahamse, First CLA Dean - Dorothy “Dee” de Ferranti Abrahamse, professor emerita in the History Department and former dean of the College of Liberal Arts, passed away last month.

  Abrahamse, a specialist in Byzantine history, was one of the first female tenure-line faculty members in the History Department when she came to CSULB in 1967. She was named the CLA’s founding dean in 1993 when the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and College of Humanities merged to form the CLA and held the position for almost 15 years.

• CNSM Students Compete in Mathematics Competition - On Saturday, December 7, four CNSM students took the Mathematics Association of America Putnam exam, the preeminent mathematics competition for undergraduate college students in the United States and Canada. Students participate in a semester-long class with Dean Bennett to prepare for the 6-hour long exam.

• MSHCA Grad Navigates Healthcare Systems Around the World - Nishi Dhanidina was already leading a globe-trotting life with a wide-ranging career in healthcare when she enrolled in CSULB's accelerated Master of Science in Health Care Administration (MSHCA) program. Read about how she attended classes while working as a speech pathologist and co-leading an international volunteer project to increase capacity at healthcare facilities in East Africa—where she applied new skills in organizational psychology, finance, and patient care.
   
• Collaborating to Overcome Tribal Transportation Obstacles - To address the critical issue of tribal access to transportation resources, a partnership has launched between Dr. Theresa Gregor, Associate Professor of American Indian Studies at the College of Liberal Arts; and Dr. Tyler Reeb, Executive Director at the Center for International Trade and Transportation in the College of Professional and Continuing Education. Their collaboration will examine how to build the capacity of tribal nations, increase the visibility of tribal leadership, and create platforms to uplift sustainable tribal communities.

• Extended Hours for Finals – The University Library has extended hours through December 18 to accommodate students during finals. 

• Thesis & Dissertation Office Reviews 53 Theses & Dissertations this Fall - The Thesis & Dissertation Office is reviewing 53 theses and dissertations for our graduate students graduating this Fall 2024. The team behind the support of the final stage of many of our graduate students’ culmination process are Cathi Cribbins, Manuscript Evaluator; Cecilia Parades, Lead; Johann Long (English, MA graduate student), Intern; Jolee Estrada (English, MA graduate student), Intern. 
   
• Many Seek to Learn More at GS’s Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Program Info Session - Over 135 current CSULB students (both graduate and undergraduate) registered to attend the Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Program info session held by the program’s Coordinator as well as Graduate Writing Specialist of the Graduate Center, Omar Hussein on Monday, December 9th. Students in attendance learned about the opportunities and benefits available through the program to pursue a PhD/doctoral education in hopes to become University faculty in the future.
   

• Grad Studies (GS) Thanks CDIP/Sally Casanova Faculty Mentors (AY 2024-25) - The Chancellor’s Doctoral Incentive Program (CDIP) and Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Program are intentional programs focused on fostering promising doctoral students who seek to become university faculty. Our wonderful CSULB faculty rise to the occasion to mentor and support the next generation of educational leaders. Let’s celebrate the faculty mentors in these programs! 

  24-25 CDIP Faculty Mentors: Dr. Eileen Luhr, Dr. Esa Syeed, Dr. Jacqueline Lyon, Dr. Lindsay Pérez Huber, Dr. Steven Osuna, Dr. Kristin Powers, Dr. Rene Treviño, and Dr. Thomas James Reed.

  24-25 Sally Casanova Faculty Mentors: Dr. Barbara Caplan, Dr. Brian Kwan, Dr. Cory Wright, Dr. Douglas Pace, Dr. Emel Demircan, Dr. Kathryn Perkins, Dr. Melawhy Garcia, Dr. Paulina Pardo Gaviria, Dr. Roberto Ortiz, Dr. Sarah Grefe, and Dr. Shirley Jensen.
   

• Research @ The Beach - GS and ORED highlight graduate student research in the Fall Research at the Beach. Learn more about Anise Mansour’s research in the field of Physics and Bhavraaj Singh’s research in the field of Computer Science!  We are always amazed by graduate students’ contribution to the knowledge in their respective fields. 

• Call for faculty participants:

  Accelerating Student Success and Equity in Teaching (ASSET) Program

  Application due date extended to December 18 (Cohort 5) | $1000 upon completion

  Cohort 5: Summer 2025

  Accelerating Student Success and Equity in Teaching (ASSET) is a peer-facilitated 3-week intensive, hands-on program combining six synchronous Zoom meetings along with asynchronous activities and deliverables. ASSET is unique in that it blends use of the CSU/CSULB student success dashboards and data with the model of culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) and equity-minded teaching practices. Tenured/Tenure-Track and Lecturer faculty are eligible to participate. TAs/GAs/ISAs are ineligible.

  • For more details:  ASSET Program [PDF]
  • For questions, email ASSET@csulb.edu