Lora Rosman’s passion and ambition motivated her to pursue a major in psychology with a minor in American Indian Studies, to become a marriage and family counselor who travels to assist indigenous communities across the country.

Art major Eduardo Chavez fell in love with art in high school and hopes to become an animator, to create images where everyone can be reminded that they matter.

Initially unsure of her career path, sociology major Mayra Rodriguez discovered a love of advocacy for others, after working in the mental health field as a certified legal Spanish/English interpreter.

Although they have different dreams and goals, these California State University, Northridge students do have some common ground: They work at the Delmar T. Oviatt Library, and they are recipients of 2017 library-funded scholarships.

Rosman, Chavez, Rodriguez and 19 other students were honored at the Oviatt Library’s Student Employee Scholarship Reception, held March 30 at the Orange Grove Bistro on campus. This was just the second annual reception, but the library has offered at least 20 $1,000 scholarships each year for the past five years.

Before the presentation, scholarship donors and recipients got to know a little more about one another. During the program, Mark Stover, dean of the Oviatt Library, presented students with scholarship certificates, and they thanked the donors.

“This is my favorite event of the year,” said Stover. “It’s really special for me personally because I was a library student assistant when I was in college, and it inspires me when I hear about our student assistants’ lives and see the scholastic and academic challenges that they’ve overcome. I’m so pleased to be in a room with 22 of the most wonderful students that you can imagine, their family and friends, and all the wonderful donors who gave to these scholarships.”

For communications major Diana Takehara, who works in the library’s Music and Media Department, receiving the Virginia Elwood Scholarship meant getting a little closer to achieving her dream of working with community youth. “I personally take 18 course units along with my job, and having this scholarship really does help,” Takehara said. “Just being able to apply for scholarships gives us a sense of hope.”

Virginia Elwood-Akers, the donor behind Takehara’s scholarship, couldn’t agree more.

“I was a librarian here for 30 years — I retired in 2001, and I loved my job,” she said. “I went to college on scholarships, and I know how important they are. Sometimes it only takes a little bit of money to make a big difference.”

Andrew Gomez-Ramirez, a guitar performance major who works in the library’s Special Collections and Archives, said he plans to use his Ronald and Elizabeth-ann Purcell International Guitar Research Archives (IGRA) Scholarship to help with his living expenses and to save for a professional guitar. He said he hopes to parlay his passion for music into a teaching career, to pass the gift of music on to future generations.

“To me, [the scholarship] represents an investment to further my career in music,” Gomez-Ramirez said.

Elizabeth-ann Purcell, widow of Ron Purcell — a former CSUN professor of guitar performance who established the International Guitar Research Archives on campus — created the scholarship Gomez-Ramirez received as an extension of her husband’s generosity to students in need, a tribute to what she called “Ron’s lunchbox.”

“When he was working, he always had this box in his drawer,” she said. “When students came in fidgeting while getting ready, he’d ask them if they had eaten. If they hadn’t, he would give them money from the box to go get a hamburger or something. Maybe it was the only food they had all day.”

Samuel Thim, a business law major who works in the library’s Finance and Personnel Department and a recipient of the Ann & David Perkins Scholarship, thanked the assembled scholarship donors on behalf of all the recipients.

“We go through our lives constantly being impacted by people whom we may not know fully,” he said. “When I was little, I remember my dad telling me a story about how a meteor knocked out the dinosaurs — he said it wasn’t the initial contact, but the deep impact that caused ripple effects. Thank you for providing the deep impact that will have an ongoing ripple effect in our lives.”

2017 Oviatt Library Student-Employee Scholarship Recipients

Ardis Flenniken Scholarship

• Belinda Figueroa

Dr. Karin J. Duran Scholarship (sponsored by Rick Nupoll)

• Michelle Castaneda
• Eduardo Chavez

Virginia Elwood Scholarship

• Diana Takehara

Friends of the Library Scholarship

• Grant Coughlin

Ronald C. and Elizabeth-ann Purcell IGRA Scholarship

• Andrew Gomez-Ramirez

Mary and James Cleary International Scholarship (sponsored by the University Women’s Club)

• Julia Haiduk

Lois and Ralph Prator Scholarship (sponsored by the University Women’s Club)

• Taya Zoormandan
• Jonathan Watts

Marianne Afifi Scholarship

• Jonathan Watts

Gus and Erika Manders Scholarship

• Ardavan Makaremi
• Gitty Namiranian
• Preston Nowakowski

Dr. Bonita J. Campbell WISE Scholarship

• Lucila Broughton
• Ninsina Yadkar

Library Employee Scholarship

• Inderdeep Kaur

Ann and David Perkins Scholarship

• Shanaya Pourdehghan
• Mayra Rodriguez
• Lora Rosman
• Samuel Thim
• Kamilia Torres
• Dennis Villa

In fall 2013, California State University, Northridge launched the myCSUNtablet initiative, which aims to provide CSUN students with engaging digital learning material at reduced costs — as opposed to sitting in traditional courses and purchasing textbooks. The initiative uses Apple iPad technology, including e-texts, apps and other digital resources.

The tablet initiative gained popularity and recognition during the past four years. It won the Apple Distinguished Program award in 2015, which has since been renamed the Apple Distinguished School Award. CSUN won the latter award earlier this year.

“This award is recognition for innovative work underway at CSUN around the myCSUNtablet initiative,” said Associate Vice President of Academic Technology Deone Zell. “[It] also allows CSUN to work closely with other Apple Distinguished schools to learn their best practices and ideas.”

CSUN collaborates with 10 other distinguished schools within the U.S. and – depending on the topic – several other international campuses.

With the tablet initiative, CSUN students in the Departments of Biology, Journalism, Kinesiology, Liberal Studies, Physical Therapy and Public Health, and College of Engineering and Computer Science can select designated iPad courses. These courses do not require physical textbooks — only an iPad, which students can purchase on a payment plan. The Departments of Psychology and Special Education also recently have joined the program.

“At first I was hesitant to take an iPad course because of the expense of purchasing an iPad,” said Yvonne Zimmerman, a junior in the journalism department. “But then I decided to enroll because I figured I would learn more about technology in that class versus a regular course.”

Zimmerman enrolled in three iPad courses in the journalism department and said she gained additional technological skills in note-taking, editing and digital media creation.

“I became more confident in using apps and software programs,” she said. “Students should be well-versed with multiple apps that can save time and make them more efficient workers.”

Along with the expansion to more departments, myCSUNtablet also has grown in content. Multiple faculty members have created learning material such as self-authored iBooks and course-tailored apps, available at no cost to the students. A few faculty members have started to explore and create content for virtual and augmented reality.

“myCSUNtablet continues to help students prepare for a future where technology is infused throughout the workplace — whether in the form of tools or software,” Zell said. “At CSUN, the initiative is helping students learn in more convenient, engaging and meaningful ways through the use of tablet tools and techniques such as the camera, the ability to write and take notes, upload assignments, manipulate data and carry their digital books around with them to study — wherever they are.”

Ivor Weiner (Special Education) has received $204,768 from the CA Department of Education in support of a project entitled “Family Focus Empowerment Center (FEC).”

Shari Tarver-Behring and Charles Hanson (Education Psychology and Counseling) have received $75,000 from the City of Los Angeles in support of a project entitled “Domestic Abuse Response Team Expansion and Enhancement (DARTEE) Project.”

Nathan Martin (Recreation and Tourism Management) has received $42,000 from the California Department of Parks and Recreation in support of a project entitled “Boating Safety Grant.” 

Amy Levin (Assistant Vice President, Graduate Studies) has received $93,277 from The Regents of the University of California in support of a project entitled “The University Consortium for Children and Families.”

Gang Lu (Physics and Astronomy) has received $79,298 from the Office of Naval Research in continuing support of a project entitled “Large-scale Modeling of Electron Dynamics and Excitations in Functional and Structural Materials.”

Three inspirational and influential figures in their fields each took their turn in front of a podium April 29 at the California State University, Northridge Distinguished Alumni Awards at the Four Seasons Hotel in Westlake Village and spoke about their common catapult: their alma mater.

“CSUN nurtured and prepared me to go into the financial world,” said investment banking titan Milton Berlinski ’78 (Computer Science). “For that, I am forever grateful.”

“CSUN took what my parents had birthed and gave it so much more, and engendered that so that an education at CSUN launched me, well, into the stars, because I do work on satellites,” said Patricia Maloney ’80 (Chemistry), a pioneer in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

“I never liked doing things in a conventional way,” said reality TV trailblazer Mike Darnell ’87 (Communication Studies). “My entire life and career have been spent looking for ways to stick out, going against the grain, trying to do things in a way no one else was doing them. At CSUN, I found a school that embraced me.”

Berlinski, Maloney and Darnell make up the 2017 class of CSUN’s Distinguished Alumni Awards honorees.

“Our honorees tonight all possess intelligence, persistence and creativity, but it is their courage that moves me and inspires me,” said President Dianne F. Harrison. “Each is a fine example of how a CSUN education can be a springboard for outstanding achievement.”

Berlinski was an international student who arrived at CSUN from Aruba. He was an active student leader, serving in student government and Student Productions and Campus Entertainment (SPACE) — where he helped bring world-class speakers and entertainers to campus. He was a founding member of CSUN’s Sigma Pi fraternity and helped organize a world hunger conference.

After CSUN, Berlinski became a star on Wall Street — first becoming a central figure in the success of global giant Goldman Sachs and building its Private Equity and advisory business, and then starting his own firm, Reverence Capital Partners LLC, in 2013. In fewer than five years, the firm has made its own mark with a run of noteworthy investments. In addition to his professional work, Berlinski has provided for others through his own foundation, the Ronald McDonald House New York, scholarships in his mother’s name for international students in Aruba and at CSUN, where he has given to the President’s 21st Century Fund.

“CSUN embodies so much more than just an excellent education,” Berlinski said.  “The university, even at that point, enjoyed a significant international student body — which helped contribute to a rich and global perspective in the classroom — but also allowed me to continue to learn more about cultures and customs [and] values, which would be valuable in my life and career.”

Maloney was a high achiever at CSUN and said beyond her chemistry classes, the university provided her with extra tools she used later in her career.

She shot up the ladder at the Mobil Oil Corporation after graduating from CSUN, and served in numerous leadership capacities — including as worldwide trading coordinator, where she balanced the entire supply of Mobil’s crude oil during the Gulf War. In 2001, she shifted gears and began working for The Aerospace Corporation, where she manages relationships and oversees a team working with some of its most prestigious partners — including NASA and the U.S. Air Force.

Maloney also has worked to provide more opportunities for others by giving back to faith-based and educational causes, including at CSUN, where she created the Patricia A. Maloney Student Travel Endowment in the university’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

“Imagine it’s a summer day in Woodland Hills, California,” Maloney said, recounting her story. “It’s a few days after my graduation in 1980, and my dad was up on a ladder repairing — I think it was the gutters — and I’m down below, handling tools and parts and we’re talking life. … And I didn’t have a job at the moment, so dad sort of says to me, ‘What did you learn at CSUN?’

“And after thinking about it for a few seconds, I said, ‘I think I learned how to attack a problem,’” she said. “And dad said, ‘Well, if that’s what you learned, you’ll be fine.’”

Darnell was the third and final honoree of the evening. Before he accepted his award, Warner Bros. shared a video the company had prepared, highlighting Darnell’s incomparable career, beginning with the first show he developed and produced, Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction. The tribute video also highlighted his work on some of the biggest shows of recent years, such as The Bachelorfranchise, Little Big Shots, The Ellen DeGeneres Show and American Idol, and upcoming projects such as Little Big Shots: Forever Young, the reboot of Love Connection and Ellen’s Game of Games — to name a few.

Darnell shared his story of humble beginnings, hard work and an unorthodox rise. Through CSUN, he found an internship at Los Angeles TV station KTTV, which later became a FOX affiliate. He ended up working at the FOX Network, where he ascended to the position of president of alternative entertainment. Today, he is the president of unscripted and alternative TV at Warner Bros., where he oversees 35 series across 20 networks. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in reality TV history.

Darnell also has a deep connection to CSUN, in that his wife, Carolyn, and mother-in-law, Frances Oberman, are CSUN alumnae. Oberman was a faculty member at the university, as well.

“Who knows where I would be without the internship I got through CSUN,” Darnell said. “That first job was in the news department at channel 11 here in Los Angeles, and it just happened to coincide with the startup of a brand-new network called FOX. And as the network grew, I grew with it. And I stayed there for almost 30 years, and, in the process, I created thousands of hours of programming culminating in what literally became the biggest show in the world, American Idol. As it turns out, I owe a lot of my success to the school.”

CSUN Central American Studies professor Beatriz Cortez.

California State University, Northridge Central American Studies professor Beatriz Cortez dedicated countless hours, energy and sweat to welding a steel porch that will be showcased over the next several months at the Orange County Museum of Art’s (OCMA) “California-Pacific Triennial: Building as Ever.” The exhibition, begins tomorrow and runs through Sept. 3 at the museum at 50 San Clemente Drive, Newport Beach California.

OCMA Senior Curator Cassandra Coblentz chose Cortez and 24 other artists from countries that border the Pacific Ocean to help express her curatorial vision, which highlights the “temporal precariousness of the built environment.”

Coblentz picked artists whose works have an intangible connection to one another, Cortez said. “In her mind, [Coblentz] makes the connections and imagines the ways the different bodies of work speak to each other,” Cortez said. “She is not only establishing a conversation between our work, but also between the spaces that are around the Pacific Ocean.”

A home built from river-rock by Dan Montelongo in Stonehurst Historic Preservation Overlay Zone in Sun Valley, California.

Cortez’s inspiration to weld her piece —”The Lakota Porch” — began with her interest in the home builder Dan Montelongo, a Native-American man who built “river-rock houses” the northeastern San Fernando Valley between 1923-25. Many of Montelongo’s houses are preserved in the Stonehurst Historic Preservation Overlay Zone, located in Sun Valley. The style has inspired other architects to design similar homes throughout Los Angeles and Orange County.

“I became really interested in this kind of construction because it shows co-existent ways to understand architecture and the indigenous ways of building pyramids and other structures in ancient times of America,” said Cortez. “This reminds me of the craftsman style of construction with some elements of the Spanish Colonial revival.”

The installation progress of Beatriz Cortez’s piece, “The Lakota Porch: The Time Traveler.”

The craftsman style that she viewed was Vernacular architecture — a style of architecture that is based on the construction of buildings and homes using only locally available materials.

According to Cortez, Montelongo built his stone houses for wealthy people but as years passed, affluent residents moved away and the property values decreased. A Lakota woman currently lives in one of the homes. Cortez said she would have been unable to live in the house when the neighborhood was wealthy about 80 years ago.

Cortez chose steel to create her piece because she wanted to imagine how someone like Montelongo would build houses if typical materials were depleted by unsustainable industrial practices.

A steel stone column from Beatriz Cortez’s piece, “The Lakota Porch: A Time Traveler.”

“I was interested in imagining a future where traditional building materials would not be available to use anymore, because we are destroying the environment,” she said. “I’m imagining a future where we do not have wood, stone and other construction materials.”

Her piece was also inspired the early 20th century back-to-the-land movement that embraced the use of traditional materials and for the economic and social reform of industrial practices.

Cortez said she hopes her piece will inspire renewed interest in and help people create conversations about indigenous construction, labor, resistance to industrialization, and cultural diversity.

She said viewers also can relate to the art because they have seen similar home styles around the area, and she hopes they develop a new appreciation for the various materials used to build houses.

“Hopefully this can invite people to stop and think about what these homes mean,” she said. “People just walk by the houses, and we take them for granted, so it might be an interesting thing for people to think about the materials we use for construction, and the different architectural styles all over Los Angeles.”

For more information on the OCMA exhibit, visit the OCMA website.

The culmination of intense hard work and research was put on full display by some of California State University, Northridge’s brightest student researchers at the 2017 Presidential Scholars Exhibit on May 2 at the Orange Grove Bistro.

The annual event featured presentations from the 2016-17 Presidential Scholarship recipients, a prestigious scholarship that gives undergraduate students the opportunity to work with faculty mentors in order to develop, complete and present an outlined research project each year at the annual exhibit.

This year’s scholars included Tyler Pugeda (mathematics), Sa La Kim (biology), Kaitlyn Amodeo (geophysics) and Allea Cauilan (cell and molecular biology).

“This exhibit provides the Presidential Scholars an opportunity to present the outcome of their year-long work,” said Director of Financial Aid and Scholarships Lili Vidal. “Perhaps most important to the scholars is the public celebration of their scholarly work and achievement, as well as the encouragement they receive for furthering their pursuits as scholars.”

For biology major Kim, her research project on the properties and role of integrin alpha 1 — which is a cell surface receptor for collagen found in pancreatic cancer — has been a three-and-a-half year journey.

“The whole process [of working on the project] was hard at first, but it was something I got used to and really enjoyed,” Kim said.

Kim’s mentor, biology professor Jonathan Kelber credits her for being a natural overachiever and stated that Kim worked on the project as a volunteer for one-and-a-half years.

“Sa La emailed me during my first semester as a faculty member at CSUN saying that she was interested in doing research,” Kelber said. “Most students in the lab, unless they have outside funding from a training grant, are volunteering their time. This is what Sa La did and she was awarded for her time and effort by getting the extra funding from the scholarship.”

In order to get a taste for what’s to come in the near future, the 2017-18 Presidential Scholars were also in attendance during the exhibit.

“I’m very honored to be chosen as an upcoming Presidential Scholar and to be doing this next year,” said junior Will Brooks, one of next year’s scholars who was in attendance. “I know it’s going to be a lot of work, but it’s exciting to see these amazing projects.”

Sharing in the excitement was Vidal, who has been a part of the scholarship program since its inception in 2005.

“I enjoy watching the students discuss their projects and experiences with each other and the engagement between faculty members and the students,” Vidal said. “[The exhibit] was an uplifting experience for everyone in attendance. It was truly a joyous occasion.”

After teaching in the Department of Africana Studies at California State University, Northridge for nearly 33 years, professor Johnie Scott will retire on May 27, at the end of the spring semester.

Professor Johnie Scott will retire on May 27th, 2017, after 33 years of teaching at CSUN.

Verne Bryant, a professor in what was then CSUN’s Department of Pan African Studies (PAS), recruited Scott in 1984 for a position in the department. He started that August, and the rest is history.

“My life, my passion, has been rooted in the black community,” Scott said.

PAS was founded in 1969 and became the first state-sponsored Department of Black Studies in the nation.

“I would like to think my teaching and work here in the Department of Pan African Studies, now called the Department of Africana Studies, has provided the opportunity for further growth, reflection and focus,” said Scott.

The professor said he plans to focus more attention on himself and his family after retirement, in order to be active and enjoy what he refers to as the “golden years” of his life.

Scott recounted a few of his accomplishments while serving as a driving force on campus for 33 years. He received CSUN’s Distinguished Teaching Award in 1992 and four “Polished Apple Awards” from the University Ambassadors, an annual award given each spring that recognizes faculty and staff who make a positive impact on the lives of students. Scott also said that taking more than 2,000 students to visit theatrical and concert venues for plays and productions has been a highlight of his time at CSUN.

“When I first came to CSUN in 1984, the longest stint I ever had at any one place was seven years,” Scott said. “If you had said to me at the time that I would be spending the next 30-plus years of my life at Northridge, I would have looked at you with disbelief and probably laughed at the improbability of it all. But the fact is that in a few short weeks, I will be joining a special group of people and I’m definitely looking forward [to it].” 

Professor Scott grew up as a young boy in the Jordan Downs Projects of Watts, CA. He is the oldest of seven siblings raised by a single mother. Scott received a scholarship to study at Harvard  University, but went on to receive both his B.A. and M.A. at Stanford University.

Of his students, Scott says their energy keeps him enthused and receptive to fresh ideas.

“I find that with students — with young people — their interests, pursuits and creations not only are surprising, but pleasantly so,” he said.

One of those students is Olivia Njuki.

Njuki is a graduating senior majoring in Africana studies and serves as the president of the African Student Association. She said that professor Scott has helped her become an overachiever.

“He’s an amazing professor, counselor and advisor,” said Njuki. “He made me go to ‘infinity and beyond.’ He’s one of my favorite professors.”

Scott said he will miss teaching classes, the lectures and watching students grow and develop over the years into young, confident people.

He also had a few parting words of advice for students.

“Be a finisher in life,” he said. “Finish the race and remember that in the world we live in now, no one is going to ask how long it took you to get that degree. Instead, they only want to know if you have it. And aside from all of that, have fun. Enjoy yourself. Spread your wings and test them. And keep in mind that these college years will be among the best in your life.”

More than 50 California State University, Northridge faculty members gathered at the fifth annual eLearning Showcase on May 8 at the Ferman Presentation Room in the Delmar T. Oviatt Library. The showcase’s objective is to highlight technology’s integration into class curriculums to enhance student success.

Eight faculty members in the departments of kinesiology, health sciences, psychology, English, art, special education and cinema and television arts presented their technology-integrated teaching methods that involve apps, the myCSUNtablet initiative or learning management systems like Canvas.

“I love the way it engages my students and how it lets us both interact with the material,” said psychology professor Stefanie Drew about using iPads in her courses. “Given the choice, I would never go back to teaching in any other way.”

English professor Andrea Hernandez said she initially did not know how to incorporate in-class assignments like mock interviews, collaborative work and oral presentations in an online version of her business communications class. She said she learned how to utilize Canvas to give clear instructions, offer personal feedback and push students who fall behind.

Other instructors presented on their use of the Technology Enhanced Active Learning classroom, interactive simulations and VARx@CSUN, an initiative that explores virtual and augmented reality.

“Learning and applying new technologies never stops in this digital age,” said Associate Vice President of Academic Technology Deone Zell. “That’s what makes it so exciting, especially if we can use faculty creativity to help students succeed.”

The Los Angeles-based Museum of Social Justice has recognized California State University, Northridge journalism professor Kent Kirkton, director of the Tom and Ethel Bradley Center at CSUN, for his efforts to promote social justice and civil rights. The museum is housed in the historic Los Angeles Plaza United Methodist Church and educates the community on the history of Los Angeles diversity.

Kirkton, an emeritus professor in CSUN’s Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication, has worked since 2009 with the museum to help preserve the Plaza church’s 100-year-old legacy through a set of educational and social outreach programs.

“[The museum] is the community’s history,” Kirkton said. [That history] could be lost to the public. The museum preserves the life story of community members.”

Besides his partnership with the museum, Kirkton has directed the Bradley Center since its founding as the Center for Photojournalism and Visual History in 1981 in CSUN’s Department of Journalism.

“Twenty-five years ago, [the center] started with just a file cabinet [with] lots of things,” Kirkton said.

It was renamed the Institute for Arts and Media in 2008, as its number of participants and mission had broadened over the years. In 2015, the institute developed an ongoing relationship with the Tom and Ethel Bradley Foundation and was renamed the Tom and Ethel Bradley Center.

Today, the center’s photograph collection in the Delmar T. Oviatt Library showcases more than 1 million images by LA-based photographers. Thousands of images include the work of prominent African-American photographers such as Guy Crowder and Harry Adams. The Bradley Center boasts the largest collection of African-American photography in the country. The collection provides images for books, has been featured in exhibitions and provides information CSUN students wouldn’t find anywhere else, Kirkton said.

The Museum of Social Justice had a collection of approximately 2,000 photos, and Kirkton invited museum staff and volunteers to deposit and digitize the photos at the Bradley Center at CSUN, he said.

The museum contains a permanent exhibit on the Los Angeles Plaza United Methodist Church’s long history of goodwill toward the less fortunate and parishioners’ and clergy’s progressive social work and outreach endeavors. Other exhibitions explore the rich and diverse ethnic, religious and racial communities of LA and beyond. Through such programs, the museum provides outreach, knowledge and empowerment to the community.

Although an emeritus faculty member, Kirkton works with the Oviatt Library’s websites and specifically their metadata collection, sets of data that describe and gives information about other data. In addition to photos, the Bradley Center collects a variety of donated items, such as newspaper articles, posters, monoprints and cameras, Kirkton said.

Kirkton also works collaboratively with Keith Rice ’10 (History), M.A. ’12 (History), who served on the board of the museum as well. When Rice was a CSUN student, Kirkton mentored him, and today, Rice is the president and historian of the Bradley Center.

For more information about the CSUN’s Tom and Ethel Bradley Center, visit csun.edu/bradley-center.

California State University, Northridge invited all staff members to its 51st annual Staff Service and Recognition of Excellence Awards ceremony on May 4 at the University Student Union’s Northridge Center.

CSUN awarded select staff with special service awards, and honored staff members who have served the university for five, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 years. About 270 staff members attended the event.

Samir Hamawe, peer counseling specialist in University Counseling Services, received the Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award. Hamawe coordinated campus awareness campaigns like the BLUES Project and Project DATE.

“His values of diversity, inclusion and multiculturalism are infused in the peer education programs he develops. His leadership is purposeful in aligning discussions about education efforts and programming with the university’s core value of respecting all people,” said Kristina de la Vega, associate vice president of human resources, who bestowed him with the award.

Six merit awards for exceptional performance went to Donald Foster, director of IT operations; William Krohmer, administrative operations analyst in the biology department; Carolina Franco Ordaghi, public relations and event specialist in the dean’s office of the College of Engineering and Computer Science; Julie Hunter, catalog editor of Undergraduate Studies; Bianca Plascencia, special education support coordinator; and Susan Krikorian, health educator at the Klotz Student Health Center.

Rob Gunsalus, vice president for University Advancement, awarded Vahram Shemmassian, a faculty member in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures, with the Alumni Relations Award for his outstanding work within the Armenian Studies Program and his efforts to raise awareness.

“He helps identify new alumni volunteers and connects students with alumni networks thanks to his hard work and strong community relationships,” Gunsalus said.

Heather Cairns, director of Administrative Services at University Licensing, received the CSUN Leadership Award and said she was honored to be selected.

“To be recognized in this way in front of my colleagues and friends made me feel proud,” she said. “I’ve had the pleasure of serving the university and learning so much along the way. I’m even more motivated to continue The University Corporation’s good work on this campus.”

Nola Kennedy (Environmental and Occupational Health) has received $107,339 from the National Institutes of Health in support of a project entitled “Student-to-Scientist Bridge Program in Environmental Health Science (S2S Bridge.”

Elena Miranda (Geological Sciences) has received $106,457 from the National Science Foundation in support of a project entitled “Collaborative Research: Strain localization, shear zone connectivity, and magma-deformation interactions by depth within a 65 km thick transpressional continental arc.”

Dean Elizabeth Say (College of Humanities) has received $13,386 from the National Security Agency in support of a project entitled “CSUN Russian Language & Culture Immersion Program.”

Dr. Rafi Efrat (Accounting and Information Systems) has received $16,750 from New Economics for Women in support of a project entitled “The CSUN VITA Clinic @ NEW Canoga Park.” 

Sembiam Rengarajan (Electrical and Computer Engineering) has received $14,999 from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in support of a project entitled “Enhancement of REFARR MoM Reflection Dyad Computer Programs.”

Professor John Broesamle handed then journalism major Erika Endrijonas ’88 (History) the results of an exam she had taken in his history course at California State University, Northridge.

She noticed the grade, an A, and the little note Broesamle had jotted in the blue book exam: “Please see me.”

Endrijonas was a little confused, but visited the professor after class in his office.

“Please say you’re a history major,” Broesamle said to her, so impressed by her work.

“No,” she replied, “I’m a journalism major.”

“I’m going to change that,” he said.

The meeting in the mid-1980s between the two changed Endrijonas’ academic direction. She switched majors to history and later became Broesamle’s teaching assistant, and worked at the Delmar T. Oviatt Library. Taking on multiple jobs at CSUN gave her the opportunity to work closely with faculty and staff to see and understand their wants and needs. Using her experience and knowledge from working at the university was a significant launching point for Endrijonas to land where she is today — the president of Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC).

Since taking the helm in 2014, Endrijonas has become a transformative figure for LAVC by turning around its fortunes during a tumultuous time. Being president of LAVC has helped shape her into a phenomenal leader whose impact spreads beyond the college. Endrijonas is openly lesbian and a founding member of the national organization LGBTQ Presidents in Higher Education.

For her accomplishments as a college president and as a champion of gender equality, she was honored March 31 as Los Angeles City Council District 2’s “2017 Pioneer Woman of the Year.”

Endrijonas pointed to her fateful meeting with Broesamle at CSUN as a major turning point in her life.

“It would have been a completely different path, because he really was that person [to change my direction] for me,” Endrijonas said of Broesamle.

◊◊◊

Broesamle retired from CSUN in 2000. He recently sifted through some old class rosters. Some of the names had slipped from his memory, but others are embedded in his mind — the names of the special students. When he reads the name Erika Endrijonas, his memories of her as a history student are crystal clear.

“Academically, she was very fine to begin with,” Broesamle said. “She combined that with a wonderful wit. She was immensely funny, and that added another dimension to her.”

Broesamle also recalled making the note on her exam, summoning Endrijonas to his office — a rarity.

“It [was] a very rare occurrence,” Broesamle said. “It meant I was very impressed and I wanted to meet her. Every once in a while, you’ll come across an extraordinarily good one. Not just good, but extraordinarily good. When I did, I wanted to meet the person and know him or her.”

Endrijonas, after switching majors to history, was on the path to a career in teaching. She altered her life direction once again when she reflected on her undergraduate and work experience at CSUN. She went on to graduate school at the University of Southern California, which in turn helped her discover a passion for higher education administration.

She became an academic advisor at USC in 1992. Afterward, she took a job with Granite State College in New Hampshire. She later worked for Oglethorpe University in Atlanta. Citing a desire to return to California, she became a dean and professor at the Los Angeles Center of the Union Institute and University. She then spent nine years at Santa Barbara City College as dean of educational programs, where she oversaw 28 departments.

In 2009, her journey up the leadership ladder took her to Oxnard College, where she served as executive vice president and oversaw academic affairs and student services, and worked as accreditation liaison officer.

Several years later, LAVC tapped Endrijonas to become its president at a very critical time for the college.

According to the Los Angeles Daily News, LAVC was at risk of losing its accreditation at the time. It was also facing a projected deficit of more than $2 million. That same article, which reported the hiring of Endrijonas and written by Daily News staff writer Dana Bartholomew, called her a “college accreditation expert.”

She rolled up her sleeves. Since 2014, Endrijonas has helped balance the budget and get LAVC back in good standing for its accreditation.

During that time, she also has been an active and devoted promoter of business development in the San Fernando Valley, as vice chair of the Valley Economic Alliance and board member of the Valley Industry & Commerce Association.

Beyond the impact Endrijonas has made as a leader for higher education and the Valley, she understands the great responsibility of leading and inspiring the LGBTQ community.

“I make it clear that I expect inclusive action and language, and that everyone is welcome,” she said. “One of my cornerstones as a leader is, I want to set an environment where everyone believes they have a seat at the table. It doesn’t matter which part of LGBTQ you are or what ethnicity you are, you have a seat at the table. And that’s important.”

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Looking back at the college president’s own time as an undergraduate, Broesamle said he was fulfilling a moral obligation to one of his exceptional students. He identified early that she was going to be a difference maker. And he was right.

“If you want to be succeeded in your own career, you want to be succeeded by people like Erika,” he said. “You want to be replaced by people more capable than you are. That’s what moves academia forward.”

Endrijonas said she appreciates the professor who pointed her forward.

“John Broesamle took an interest in me and mentored me during my time at CSUN,” she said. “I thought I knew all the answers, and thought I was going to be the next Woodward and Bernstein. I left CSUN with a completely different vision of my life. What I got out of it helped me listen to my own internal voice. I left thinking I was going to be a full-time faculty member on the tenure track, but when I got to USC, I realized that wouldn’t be the case. I listened to my internal voice and was able to find the path I was meant to be on. A lot of that has to do with the experience I had at CSUN.”