Newswise — The California State University (CSU) is recognizing 26 faculty members with Faculty Innovation and Leadership Awards for their commitment to student success.
The awards, including some granted to campus teams, recognize faculty leaders who have implemented innovative practices that significantly improve student success. Award recipients teach and have expertise in a variety of fields from accounting to social work to mathematics.
"World-class CSU faculty are leading the charge as our university continues its remarkable progress in improving student learning and degree completion," said CSU Chancellor Timothy P. White. "These exceptional recipients demonstrate leadership in their respective fields and incorporate cutting-edge techniques into curriculum. Their commitment to student success ensures that the value of a CSU degree continues to increase."
A selection committee comprised of faculty, student representatives from the California State Student Association and staff members from the CSU Chancellor's Office reviewed 366 nominations to identify the inaugural awardees.
As part of the recognition, awardees will receive a $5,000 cash award and $10,000 will be allocated to their academic department to support ongoing innovation and leadership to advance student success. Funding for the awards is provided by generous grant support from the College Futures Foundation and the James Irvine Foundation, who see faculty innovation and leadership as vital to improving outcomes for California's diverse students.
The recipients of the Faculty Innovation and Leadership Awards are:
| Name | Department | Campus |
| Jianjun Wang | Advanced Educational Studies | Bakersfield |
| Jaime Hannans | Nursing | Channel Islands |
| Stephanie Bianco | Nutrition and Food Science | Chico |
| Louis Carrier | Psychology | Dominguez Hills |
| Nancy Cheever | Communications | Dominguez Hills |
| Larry Rosen | Psychology | Dominguez Hills |
| Erik Helgren | Physics | East Bay |
| Karina Garbesi | Environmental Studies | East Bay |
| Rajee Amarasinghe | Mathematics | Fresno |
| Julian Jefferies | Literacy and Reading Education | Fullerton |
| Jennifer Maguire | Social Work | Humboldt |
| Rashida Crutchfield | Social Work | Long Beach |
| Silvia Heubach | Mathematics | Los Angeles |
| Judith Canner | Mathematics and Statistics | Monterey Bay |
| Sally Spencer | Special Education | Northridge |
| Juliana Fuqua | Psychology and Sociology | Pomona |
| Paul Nissenson | Mechanical Engineering | Pomona |
| Faye Wachs | Psychology and Sociology | Pomona |
| Hakan Ozcelik | Business | Sacramento |
| Francisca Beer | Accounting and Finance | San Bernardino |
| Antoni Luque | Mathematics and Statistics | San Diego |
| Zhaoshuo Jiang | Engineering | San Francisco |
| Margaret Stevenson | Justice Studies | San José |
| Zoe Wood | Computer Science and Software Eng. | San Luis Obispo |
| Kambiz Hamadani | Chemistry and Biochemistry | San Marcos |
| Christine Renaudin | Modern Languages | Sonoma |
Faculty innovation is crucial to reaching the ambitious student success goals outlined in the CSU's Graduation Initiative 2025. This university-wide effort advances specific goals to eliminate equity gaps and significantly improve degree completion.
Award recipients will be formally honored in mid-October at the upcoming third-annual Graduation Initiative 2025 Symposium hosted this year in San Diego, California.
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About the California State University
The California State University is the largest system of four-year higher education in the country, with 23 campuses, 50,800 faculty and staff and 484,000 students. Half of the CSU's students transfer from California community colleges. Created in 1960, the mission of the CSU is to provide high-quality, affordable education to meet the ever-changing needs of California. With its commitment to quality, opportunity, and student success, the CSU is renowned for superb teaching, innovative research and for producing job-ready graduates. Each year, the CSU awards more than 110,000 degrees. One in every 20 Americans holding a college degree is a graduate of the CSU and our alumni are 3.4 million strong. Connect with and learn more about the CSU in the CSU NewsCenter.
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