News Release| CSULA; 2009-10 CSU Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Scholars

September 23, 2009

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14 CSULA graduates awarded $3,000 each to pursue doctoral degrees


Cal State L.A. has the most Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Scholars
among CSU campuses—again

Los Angeles, CA – For a second year in a row, Cal State L.A.—with 14 graduates selected for the 2009-10 Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Scholar awards—represents the largest group from any California State University campus to be selected for the system-wide awards.

Each $3,000 award covers travel expenses to doctoral-granting institutions and to attend professional conferences as well as fees for college applications and graduate exams.

The award honors the late Sally Casanova, who launched the program in 1989. A member of the CSU Chancellor’s Office staff during the 1960s, Casanova also served as associate vice president for academic affairs and dean of graduate studies at CSU Dominguez Hills, from 1991 until her death in 1994. She was married to Cal State L.A. chemistry professor (now emeritus) Joseph Casanova.  

According to Alan Muchlinski, CSULA associate dean of graduate studies, Cal State L.A. received 20 percent of the total awards. There were 258 students from the 23 CSU campuses who applied and only 70 students were selected in total.”

Since 1998 more than 130 students from Cal State L.A. have been recognized as Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Scholars. More than 50 percent of the CSULA students have entered top-ranking doctoral programs throughout the United States and in several foreign countries.

The following CSULA Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Scholars will explore the prospect of doctoral studies:

A history graduate student, Karla Callejas (Covina resident) is a high-school history teacher who would like to conduct research that traces the trans-Atlantic journey of Catholic traditions beginning with early modern Spain, and re-evaluate their influence on the Nahuatl-speaking groups of the Anahuac Valley in Mexico.

A history graduate student, David Jamison (Hawthorne resident) plans to pursue a Ph.D. in African history, with emphasis on comparative world history and pre-colonial civilizations.

A nutritional science graduate student, Gigi Kwok (Pasadena resident) would like to further her education in public health or preventive health, focusing on the areas of obesity and nutrition for children and adolescents. She hopes to pursue a career in higher education and also practice as a clinical registered dietitian.

An anthropology graduate student, Andrea Milly (Alhambra resident) would like to conduct research on multi-ethnic communities focusing on historic preservation.

A history/Latin American studies graduate student, Freddy Moncada (Los Angeles resident) is looking forward to attending a doctoral program that will further his studies in Latin American history. His research interest focuses on race, class, gender and power through the discourse of media outlets during the social revolution in Bolivia.

A history graduate student, Karen Ter-Sarkisian (Los Angeles resident) will pursue a doctoral degree in Byzantine/Armenian history during the period of the Crusades in the 11th to 13th centuries.

A Spanish linguistics major, Luis Vargas-Maldonado (Los Angeles resident) is interested in the study of native Mexican languages, particularly Zapotec, from the Northern Sierra of Oaxaca, Mexico.

A biology graduate student, Isba Silva (West Covina resident) would like to pursue a doctorate degree in molecular genetics.

A Latin American studies graduate student, Alejandro Villalpando (Los Angeles resident) is interested in adding a “new voice” into the scholarly work that exists in the transnational study of Central Americans.

A Chicano Studies graduate student, Salvador Zarate (Santa Ana resident) is interested in pursuing a doctorate in ethnic studies, with an emphasis on migration and labor movements.

In addition, education major Michael Greene (West Hollywood), biology major Connie Lee (Cerritos), biology major Irving Phillips (Lancaster), and political science major Adan Rios (Los Angeles) were selected as 2009-10 Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Scholars.

For more information on the program, contact Alan Muchlinski, associate dean of graduate studies at Cal State L.A., (323) 343-3820.

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Working for California since 1947: The 175-acre hilltop campus of California State University, Los Angeles is at the heart of a major metropolitan city, just five miles from Los Angeles’ civic and cultural center. More than 20,000 students and 210,000 alumni—with a wide variety of interests, ages and backgrounds—reflect the city’s dynamic mix of populations. Six Colleges offer nationally recognized science, arts, business, criminal justice, engineering, nursing, education and humanities programs, among others, led by an award-winning faculty. Cal State L.A. is home to the critically-acclaimed Luckman Jazz Orchestra and to a unique university center for gifted students as young as 12. Programs that provide exciting enrichment opportunities to students and community include an NEH- and Rockefeller-supported humanities center; a NASA-funded center for space research; and a growing forensic science program, housed in the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center. www.calstatela.edu