Ahead of the class
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Extending their reach: Five Cal State L.A. professors will  or have already  made their mark abroad in research and teaching this year through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. Professors Mohammad Auwal, Susan Mason, Elliot L. Oring, Hassan M. Rezaie Boroon and Marguerite Ann Snow will be visiting and working in countries as varied as Togo, Qatar, Japan, Iceland and Cyprus, thanks to the national program.
Cal State L.A.Âs five-scholar Fulbright contingent is one of the largest in the country. Among the roughly 425 colleges and universities nationwide with Fulbright scholars this year, only six have more than Cal State L.A.: UC Berkeley, University of Arizona, University of Georgia and Penn State each have six; Georgetown, seven, and University of Washington, nine.
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U.S. News and World Report: The UniversityÂs undergraduate engineering and business programs have been recognized as being among the top programs in the country by U.S. News and World Report for the tenth year in a row.
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Leading by example: Cal State L.A. President James M. Rosser was honored in November with the Spirit of Philanthropy Award and then in October with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the 100 Black Men of Los Angles, Inc. Both awards were in recognition of his outstanding leadership and contributions to the greater Los Angeles community, specifically during the nearly 30 years that he has led the University.
Awardees: Eighteen Cal State L.A. students were each awarded $3,000 incentives to pursue doctoral degrees, representing the largest group of students from any CSU campus this year to be named Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Scholars.
The national recognition follows a steady stream of awards that reflect the excellence of Cal State L.A.Âs teaching. Those include two national business competitions, where teams of business students received first-place honors, and two first-place finishes for engineering students at an intercollegiate and concrete bowling competition this year.
New additions come in pairs
From new degrees to buildings, Cal State L.A. students have double the opportunity today.
Faces: Students were welcomed back to campus with two new deans. Phillip Romero, the dean of the College of Business and Economics started his post in June, and James P. Henderson joined the University as the head of the College of Natural and Social Sciences in July.
Places: Both the University-Student Union and Wallis Annenberg Integrated Sciences Complex were unveiled and opened to students, faculty and staff this fall.
The Wallis Annenberg complex, of which the first wing is opened, is named in honor of a $5 million grant the University received from the Annenberg Foundation. The building provides students studying chemistry, biology, and other science disciplines with access to state-of-the art laboratories and high-tech scientific equipment.
Designed to be the hub of student activities and programs, the new 93,000-square-foot University-Student Union features an expanded computer lab, modern fitness center, a 200-seat theater, coffee house and meeting and lounge space. The U-SU, which officially opened in October, also houses the offices for the Alumni Association, Center for Student involvement and more.
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Programs: Two new masterÂs programs are piquing studentÂs interest and making news these days. In the spring, the College of Natural and Social Sciences launched a masterÂs of science program in Environmental Science. And then this fall, the College of Arts and Letters welcomed its first class of 23 students in an interdisciplinary Master of Fine Arts program that provides extensive training in television, film and theater. The group of students were selected from a pool of 80 students, with degrees from universities as diverse as CSU Dominguez Hills to JapanÂs Osaka University of the Arts.