The California State University (CSU) is recognizing 25 faculty and staff with Faculty Innovation and Leadership Awards (FILA), honoring those who have demonstrated extraordinary leadership to advance student success, particularly in courses or areas with traditionally low success rates or persistent equity gaps.
In this season of remarkable institutional transformation, CSU faculty and staff are at the center of innovative thinking in redesigning courses, advancing innovative student support programs, effectively using data to address equity gaps and collaborating beyond their campus boundaries to improve student outcomes. This year's awardees, including three campus teams, are exemplary faculty and staff leaders who have implemented such innovative practices.
“The CSU's world-class faculty continue to advance bold, creative solutions to enrich student learning, despite the daunting and unprecedented challenges facing higher education," said CSU Chancellor Timothy P. White. “The awardees have demonstrated brilliance, ingenuity and adaptability, and their steadfast commitment to student success is at the very core of the CSU's educational mission."
A selection committee comprised of faculty, student representatives from the California State Student Association and staff members from the CSU Office of the Chancellor reviewed hundreds of nominations to identify the awardees.
Awardees receive $5,000, as well as $10,000 allocated to their academic department in support of ongoing innovation and leadership to advance student success at the CSU. Funding for the awards is provided by generous grant support from foundation partners.
The recipients of the 2020 Faculty Innovation and Leadership Awards are:
|
Name |
Department |
Campus |
| John Tarjan | Department of Management and Marketing | Bakersfield |
| * Heather Castillo & MiRi Park | Performing Arts | Channel Islands |
| * Susan Roll & Jennifer Wilking | School of Social Work | Chico |
| Cheryl McKnight | Anthropology | Dominguez Hills |
| Fadi Castronovo | School of Engineering, Construction Management Program | East Bay |
| Archana McEligot | Public Health | Fullerton |
| Roberto Soto | Mathematics | Fullerton |
| * Matthew D. Johnson & Amy Sprowles | Department of Wildlife Management | Humboldt |
| Shadnaz Asgari | Biomedical Engineering Department, Computer Engineering and Computer Science Department | Long Beach |
| James E. Brady | Department of Anthropology | Los Angeles |
| Merav Efrat | Department of Health Sciences | Northridge |
| Patricia Backer | Aviation and Technology | San Jose |
| Sarah Dahlen | Library | Monterey Bay |
| B. Dana Kivel | Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administration | Sacramento |
| Kelly McDonald | Department of Biological Sciences | Sacramento |
| Terri Nelson | World Languages and Literatures | San Bernardino |
| Elizabeth Pollard | History | San Diego |
| Jae H. Paik | Developmental Psychology | San Francisco |
| Megan Guise | School of Education | San Luis Obispo |
| Sharon Hamill | Department of Psychology | San Marcos |
| Matthew Paolucci-Callahan | Department of Psychology | Sonoma |
| Cueponcaxochitl D. Moreno Sandoval | Department of Ethnic Studies | Stanislaus |
* Team awardees
Read bios for each awardee on the Faculty Innovation and Leadership Awards website.
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.
Dr. Jennifer Wilking, Ph.D., associate professor and vice chair of Chico State's Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice, speaks to students in a multidisciplinary course. Photo courtesy of Chico State/Jason Halley