May/June 2024

Dear Faculty and Staff,

As we wrap up our Spring 2024 semester, best wishes to our faculty, staff and students for a restful and refreshing summer. It has been an eventful semester with several highlights.

CSUN Men’s Soccer team honors their favorite professors.

I’m thrilled that a partnership between CSUN Athletics and Academic Affairs has resulted in the second in a series of MVP (Most Valuable Professor) nights honoring the CSUN Faculty.

This program began last Fall, and during halftime of the CSUN vs. UC San Diego game on October 18, the Matador men's soccer team paid tribute to 13 professors at Matador Soccer Field.

And the Matador women's basketball team honored 11 MVPs during halftime of the CSUN vs. Cal State Bakersfield game in Premier America Credit Union Arena, Sacramento.

Each participating student-athlete honored one professor who significantly impacted their academic journey, underscoring the deep connections beyond the classroom.

"The initiative of MVP Night is a testament to the profound relationships and mutual respect fostered between student-athletes and faculty members," said Shawn Chin-Farrell, CSUN's Director of Athletics. "CSUN celebrates the dedication of our student-athletes, both on the field and in their academic pursuits. Equally, we are deeply grateful for the unwavering support from
our faculty and Academic Affairs.” We are delighted to keep this program going as our student athletes honor their professors.

It seems simple: Toward the end of a school term, professors ask their students to fill out an evaluation form — generally called an “SEF,” or student evaluation of faculty. But educators are finding that some issues have existed with SEFs for decades. The forms have been inconsistent, the questions asked may instill bias, and therefore how the results have been utilized – for tenure and personnel decisions —may be detrimental to staff. 

To the end of making student course evaluations a meaningful learning activity for all, the Educational Equity Committee (EEC) within the Faculty Senate created the CSUN Teaching Effectiveness Task Force in Fall 2022 by Suzanne Spear (Health Sciences) and co-chaired by Nellie Duran (Family and Consumer Sciences) titles decided to research the SEFs at CSUN and try to make them better.  

Here's what the report from the task force says:  A subcommittee of faculty serving on EEC created a proposal for a task force in 2021-2022. The subcommittee conducted a great deal of information gathering work and awareness raising on campus. The subcommittee met with leaders from San Francisco State University and CSU Fullerton involved with reforming teaching evaluation systems. The subcommittee organized a virtual Town Hall on April 8, 2022, to raise awareness of the problem with teaching evaluation at CSUN and invited the SFSU and CSUF representatives to share their work. The task force went on to conduct its own research on SEF statewide. 

The task force included students, faculty and administrators.   

“When you look at the literature,” says Duran, “it’s clear that biases exist in these tools, and at CSUN, every department has its own, meaning all of the SEFs are different.” Not only that, but the pair realized that there was not a definitive definition of “teaching effectiveness.” So they created the Task Force to gather information that could remedy the issues at CSUN.  

The findings state that faculty at CSUN have long expressed concerns about SEFs and their role in teaching evaluation and the Retention, Tenure and Promotion process. The CSUN SEFs have unknown validity and reliability, and SEFs in general have been shown to be biased.  

“For one thing, this is about teaching effectiveness,” Duran says, “but our current practice doesn't speak to teaching effectiveness, it speaks to the more of a summative approach. And the results are being used for personnel purposes and not really to improve teaching.”
And some faculty have even felt that unfair results have caused them harm.  

“There is substantial research documenting a variety of biases inherent to SEFs, resulting in lower rating for women and faculty of color,” the Task Force report states. And it’s quite widespread, not just at CSUN.

Among many California State University faculty, “There is this sense of injustice and that the good work people are doing is not being seen,” says Spear. “We are being relegated to a number.” The group reached out to other state universities — San Francisco State University, for one — as well as calling on colleagues nationwide, and found many universities had formed similar task forces. And the CSUN team became passionate about the project. Spear says, “We thought, ‘We can fix this, it doesn’t have to be this way.’ It’s not just the tools themselves, but also how administrators might use them — unsystematically.”  

The Provost’s Office supported the effort then and now, on March 15, 2024, the Teaching Effectiveness Task Force presented its findings in a Town Hall meeting. I commend the Task Force for its work — including the changes that have been recommended toward improving the SEF and look forward to its next steps of creating a pilot questionnaire. 

Spear and Duran also hope an evaluation of the process will improve it. “We’re not saying that we don’t think faculty should be evaluated,” Spear says. “If students give a lot of negative feedback, that’s valid. We trust that an improved process would prevent someone from being judged unfairly, and penalized, due to an implicit bias. And that starts with knowing what the tool is measuring.” 

Duran puts it like this: “The tools need to be rigorously developed, and adapted for some of the dimensions. So we are making  an effort of mapping those questions out in a way that will measure teaching effectiveness at CSUN. 

“For instance, students might love a teacher who is funny,” she says, “But unless the university is teaching students to be comedians, a question about that doesn’t belong in the survey.”

The task force completed its pilot to test a new tool and will continue to fine tune it. “So far, we are proposing a tool that the whole university uses,” Duran explains. “If a faculty member feels strongly that they need to add a question, then they add a question. We will figure out that process as well, but each question needs to be specific and measure what you are intending it to measure. Some departments really do feel they need a different evaluation, like math and science, from humanities, for instance. So of course we allow for that dialogue.”

Spear says the task force will continue to hold focus groups and town halls to raise awareness of the move to improve the student evaluation process, and fine tune questions to reduce the conscious and unconscious bias inherent in the questionnaires. 

“We know we can’t totally get rid of the bias,” she admits, “But we know that informing students of the purpose of the evaluations, creating clear questions and including an anti-bias statement will head it off.” And since they know there will always be some bias in student evaluations, the researchers hope that the way SEFs are used can change, “that there are multiple sources of evidence used, including peer observations, and the student evaluations don’t carry too much weight.” 

The team also wants to continue to support faculty and acknowledge that the review process can be a cause for distress.  “We’re hoping we can create a culture at CSUN that appreciates the formative nature of evaluations and reviews.” 

Dr. Patchaeeya R. Kwan

Research and Sponsored Programs, with support from the Jerome Richfield Memorial Fund, organizes an annual event that celebrates a CSUN faculty member engaged in high quality, high-impact research, where they are named as the Richfield Memorial Fellow. The Fellow presents a lecture at the Provost’s Colloquium Series, which is designed to highlight and celebrate the scholarly achievements of our faculty, and to provide an opportunity for socialization among faculty, administrators, students, and staff.

We are happy to announce that this year’s 2024 Jerome Richfield Memorial Fellow is Patchareeya (Patty) P. Kwan from the Department of Health Sciences, where she teaches graduate level courses in public health, curriculum development and community health, and conducts research into health disparities among Asian Americans and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities in the Southern California region. 

Dr. Kwan’s research, particularly the NIH-funded SEA US, HEAR US Study, addresses the health disparities faced by Southeast Asian Americans (SEA) in Greater Los Angeles, emphasizing the importance of disaggregating data to understand the diverse needs of SEA subgroups. She is also a Principal Investigator of the BUILD PODER Center funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences to engage, support, and retain undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds in biomedical research and other STEM-related fields. Dr. Kwan completed her doctorate degree in Health Behavior Research at the University of Southern California. 

On April 3, Dr. Kwan accepted the award and presented a lecture describing her SEA US, HEAR US work.

We asked Dr. Kwan — who was born in Thailand — what receiving the fellowship means to her and her work.  

It means more recognition, most definitely. What’s important to me is to recognize not only my work, but also the importance of the cause. The committee gives you a title — and a trophy, which is nice. And that gives me a year to take advantage of doors opening a little quicker, perhaps easier access to the Provost, who I have already been working with. I submit research grants all the time.  

And the support for the SEA US, HEAR US and the BUILD PODER projects will help me get grants for my passion project, a smaller study that highlights a need to approach research among minoritized communities with improved understanding of cultural nuances. 

I want to do away with data aggregation, when you clump people together as we tend to do, without the vital nuances that exist between populations. It’s done in the United States, with the U.S. Census, and it’s slowly changing. I want to examine this in a CSUN setting as well. I’m hoping this award will clear a path for more research and change. 

I think I can replicate many of the projects here at CSUN. Our students are so wonderful, and I want them to see the value of research and engage in research that can improve our community. 

Jerome Richfield founded the CSUN philosophy department in 1959. He was acting Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost for the university from 1984-85. 

On April 5, 2024, at University Student Union, I was honored to present the awards for the 2024 CSUNposium, which acknowledges CSUN student achievements across all academic disciplines. The CSUNposium, also known as the Annual Student Research and Creative Works Symposium, is a student conference featuring oral and poster presentations. The purpose is to showcase excellence in scholarly research and creative activity. 

This year, the CSUNposium marked its 28th year. The all-day event is a congregation of the academic research and creative activity that are such an important component at CSUN. I congratulate everyone who participated and commend you for taking advantage of this opportunity.   

The poster and oral sessions demonstrated our students’ dedication to research and scholarship. Their research projects address fundamental questions in the arts, sciences, and technology and we could not be prouder of the work our students are accomplishing.

More than 175 students gave three- and 10-minute oral presentations, and attendees also viewed poster presentations throughout the day. Graduate and undergraduate students presented both preliminary and completed works and represented CSUN colleges across campus.  

It was quite impressive.   

I also would like to recognize the numerous faculty members who served as mentors and advisors. Their dedication to our students is commendable, and the support they have provided and wisdom they have shared will help our students with their continued successes. A big thank you to the faculty judges and CSUN staff who put in valuable hours for the CSUNposium. We couldn’t do it without you.

For complete information on winners, presentations and applying for next year’s CSUNposium, go to csun.edu/research-graduate-studies/csunposium

Dr. Paul J. Lazarony

How long have you been at CSUN, and what brought you here?  
I’ve been at CSUN for 27 years; I started as Associate Chair of Accounting and Information Systems, then stepped up to Chair in 2010. In 2016 I became Associate Dean of the College of Business and Economics, then this past July I was named VP of Undergraduate Studies. 

When I first got my degree, I interviewed at four different places; three were either in the Midwest or the South. Then there was this opportunity to come to Los Angeles. The fact is, I originally came for the weather. But I’ve stayed because of how amazing our students are. We have a very diverse group of students, a majority of whom are first generation university students. And if we can help them graduate, and support them through the process, then we are not only changing their lives, we are also changing their families’ lives.  That is so rewarding.  

What is most fulfilling about your role at CSUN? 
One of the things I’m most proud of is — and I think most people at the university know this — I happen to be gay, and I’ve been out the entire time I’ve been here. I’ve worked with the Pride Center of the University Student Union and helped create “Queer in Your Career,” a series of workshops that bring professionals to campus — many of them alumni — to talk to students about what it’s like being out in their professions. And when it’s not the best choice to come out at any given time or job.  csun.edu/pride.

And I always make sure there is diversity on any stage, that I am the only white gay guy, and everyone else represents the intersectionality of our community. That led me to become involved with the national Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity (SEED) project, and during that work we were really charged with asking: What interactable possibilities exist at your university? Now that you understand equity and diversity, can you better understand your colleagues and students? Yourself? Ultimately it led me to help establish the Valera NEST (Nurturing Environment for Students to Thrive) where we work with students who are food and/or housing insecure. We help them find homes, and sometimes put them up at CSUN dorms while we find them temporary or permanent housing. The place is a one-stop shop for stunts struggling, the food pantry will look like a grocery store. It’s sponsored by Milt and Debbie Valera, Rick and Barbara Levy, and the CSUN Foundation.

Anything else you’re proud of?
In the years I’ve been here, I’ve developed a kind of motto: That we strive to see each student as the amazing, unique individual they are, and provide them with the resources and support they need to have an equal opportunity to be successful. And I’ve tried to stay as connected as I can to students, so as we are changing policies and procedures, I want to make sure that we're always doing that in their best interest.