Welcome to the April 2025 edition of The Lens. In this edition we look back on some of our research-related events during the semester so far, including the exciting news about Sacramento State being recognized as an R2 institution, the Spring Symposium Competition and awardees, the Sponsored Programs Resource Fair hosted by ORIED and SPA, and the April Lunch & Learn. We had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Shannon Williams, Executive Director for the Institute of Social Research (ISR), about ISR’s research, which directly informs programs, policies, and community initiatives. We also included a feature on Sonya Lovine, who has been with ORIED for 21 years, but has been working on campus for 36 years!

The Spring Symposium Competition was a great success, highlighting over 90 exceptional presentations from undergraduate and graduate students representing every college. We sincerely appreciate the dedication of all participating students, the faculty mentors who guide their research, the faculty jurors who generously contributed their time to evaluating abstracts and presentations, and the campus community for their enthusiastic support and attendance. The winners traveled to Cal Poly Humboldt for the CSU-wide Student Research competition in April, which you can read more about further down.

Last semester, ORIED launched a new Lunch and Learn series that invites faculty to informal workshops on topics associated with research and scholarly activity. Our April Lunch and Learn, in partnership with the University Library, focused on experiences managing data, navigating publishing requirements, and using tools like ORCID, SciENcv, and Google Scholar. Mary-Kate Finnegan gave a brief overview of campus support for data management plans, open access publishing, and related services. If you have an idea or a request for a future Lunch and Learn topic, feel free to email us at research@csus.edu.

Happy reading!

Sacramento State has joined a prestigious group of Universities across the country that boast a significant commitment to research and scholarly activities.

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has, for the first time, recognized Sac State for its “high research activity” and number of awarded research doctoral degrees by designating the University as an R2 institution.

The recognition is a point of pride for the University, one that signals its ongoing commitment to scholarly work and that will help it attract and retain top faculty, provide students with valuable research opportunities and impact the larger community.

This year's Spring Symposium highlighted over 90 exceptional presentations from undergraduate and graduate students representing every college. We sincerely appreciate the dedication of all participating students, the faculty jurors who generously contributed their time to evaluating abstracts and presentations, and the campus community for their enthusiastic support and attendance. Your collective efforts made this event a resounding success in showcasing scholarly excellence.

This open house event was for Sacramento State faculty and staff who engage in research- from new faculty, to existing or former principal investigators and support staff. Attendees had an opportunity to meet representatives from various departments and gain insight into the processes in place to support research, especially projects funded through grants and contracts.

This month's Lunch & Learn featured an informal panel discussion on research data and publishing. It took place on Wednesday, April 16th from 12pm -1:30pm in the Faculty Seminar Room in Library room 1522. Faculty panelists Kathie McReynolds and Clint Collins shared their experiences managing data, navigating publishing requirements, and using tools like ORCID, SciENcv, and Google Scholar. Mary-Kate Finnegan gave a brief overview of campus support for data management plans, open access publishing, and related services. This session was a great opportunity for faculty to exchange ideas, ask questions, and connect with support resources.

This month, ORIED is highlighting The Institute for Social Research at Sacramento State (ISR), which partners with communities and decision-makers to conduct applied social research that fosters positive change in the Sacramento region and throughout California.

"In contrast to the traditional model of academic research centers that have a narrow research agenda, we think of ourselves as interdisciplinary methodologists. We recognize our partners as the true subject-matter experts for their programs and the communities they serve. As a result, ISR conducts studies across a wide range of topics that include a social component – whether that is understanding food insecurity in Yolo County, the inclusive economy of the Sacramento Region, or how the Del Paso Heights community is experiencing and addressing violence – we help our research partners make evidence-based decisions about their most pressing priorities and questions", Shannon Williams, ISR's Executive Director, explains. ISR employs 18 full time staff and is involved with 20-25 projects annually, with most spanning 2-3 years. ISR's office is located at Sacramento State Downtown.

Over the last 35 years, ISR has established itself as a trusted research partner, connecting Sacramento State to public agencies and community-based organizations throughout the state. Their studies showcase the research capacity of Sacramento State and provide opportunities for students to work on a research team within community settings.

The Institute typically engages about 60 students per year in different types of research. ISR employs student research assistants, who work part-time in the ISR office on various research projects.

"We also employ students for specific data collection efforts", Williams notes. "For example, students may conduct telephone surveys or collect data in tobacco retail outlets across the state for our project with the California Department of Public Health. Finally, we have academic student placements where students can earn credit for an internship or a field placement at ISR. We’ve also hosted Pathway Fellows every summer since the inception of the program".

"A recent evaluation of our students’ experience working at ISR found that 85% of the students reported learning new research skills, 78% felt more confident in the workplace from their experience, and 55% became interested in conducting research in their community. Many of our current staff started at ISR as student research assistants!"

ISR is currently piloting a self-paced training for student research assistants called “Research Readiness”. This training is available to the entire campus through the Canvas platform. The modules are intended to introduce and prepare students to serve as research assistants– either for faculty or any research center. These foundational skills also apply to the workplace and are intended to help students meaningfully engage in research projects.

In 2022/23, ISR provided an opportunity for four Sac State research teams to field questions using their regional survey panel through the Anchor University Fellowship. They hope in the future that they will find funding to continue to support faculty research. They also serve as the external evaluator for several faculty-initiated grants - such as Sustainable Interdisciplinary Research to Inspire Undergraduate Success II (SIRIUS II) and Achieving STEM Persistence through Interventions Related to Empowerment (ASPIRE) - which funded programs in the College

of Natural Science and Mathematics and the College of Engineering and Computer Science.

"ISR’s research directly informs programs, policies, and community initiatives, many times serving as the catalyst for important conversations and positive change throughout Sacramento", Williams says. "A powerful example is our "Estimating Sex Trafficking in Sacramento County" study, conducted in partnership with Community Against Sexual Harm (CASH) and RTI International. This first-of-its-kind study included training survivors to conduct 168 face-to-face interviews with women engaged in sex work who also had indicators of being trafficking."

The impact of this work continues to grow. Just last month, a new multi-agency task force was formed to address trafficking in Sacramento County. During the press announcement, their study was cited as providing critical data on the prevalence of trafficking and compelling evidence for coordinated action to address this urgent issue.

To put forth Sacramento State’s strongest proposals this November, the Offices of Research, Innovation, and Economic Development (ORIED) will hold an internal competition to identify up to two proposals. The National Science Foundation (NSF) MRI program looks for faculty teams who will use a needed instrument for research and student training. The selected project(s) are eligible to receive an MRI incentive award of $2,500 shared among the principal investigators. Indications of interest are due by 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 27 following the Memorial Day weekend.

In this month's segment of The Lens, we decided to spotlight Sonya Lovine, ORIED's Economic Development Specialist. Sonya has been an incredible, irreplaceable asset to our campus for an amazing 36 years! In her new role as Economic Development Specialist, she notes that she feels grateful and rejuvenated to keep pushing forward and serving Sacramento State as best she can.

Prior to ORIED, she worked at the Office of Alumni Relations for 10 years. "When I left Alumni Relations, I told myself I would never work in one department longer than ten years again...But I've been with ORIED for 21 years now. Never say never!"

"I have been here for SO long that I remember when grant proposals (hundreds of pages of paper) were manually photocopied, hole-punched, collated and delivered via snail-mail! Thank goodness for technology and going paperless!"

Sonya started working in ORIED as an executive assistant to the Assistant Vice President at the time. When asked how her role at ORIED has evolved over the years, Sonya notes, "Working in various capacities (Executive Assistant, Sponsored Research Officer, Economic Development Specialist) has kept work interesting...projects you work on, or the faculty that you work with, are always changing, so that keeps it entertaining!"

Even with over 35 years under her belt, when asked about what she is most proud of when it comes to her position, Sonya reminisces about a hula-hoop contest she won.

"The bigger 'family' of co-workers (ORIED and UEI-SPA) are quite competitive people – so to win any competition around here is definitely something to be proud of – even if it was just hula-hooping!"

Sonya is proud of the role she served in being a liaison to the Sacramento Promise Zone. She has had the opportunity to work with a key group of individuals in the Sacramento community who work to improve the quality of life in neighborhoods in need of change. "My role has been to help connect people and resources when needed," she explains, "but it has truly been heartwarming and fulfilling to watch the work happen as they all pull together to make a difference in our local region".

When Sonya leaves the office, she loves to teach yoga, run, lift weights, kickbox, cook, and snuggle with her Boston Terrier, Wonder. Currently, there are no plans for retirement, but when that time comes, Sonya hopes to help others with yoga therapy.

"For several years, I have wanted to teach yoga in the prison system (Folsom State Prison) but that’s not an easy task to do while working full-time. In my retirement, that will be the first thing I pursue – helping a population that is overlooked, sharing healing yoga and mindfulness as they work towards rehabilitation during incarceration. And, I hope to still be running!  Faster, further, and harder!  Hoping that retirement will be the next fun step I take in life!  It’s kind of hard to beat working at a university your whole career – Sac State has been good to me".

"Looking back over the course of 35+ years, there are several people I’d like to recognize for helping me reach this milestone!"

Booker T. Banks, my admissions counselor when I was a freshman at Sac State – Booker, who is no longer with us, was the best guidance counselor!  For four years he repeatedly told me that if I get my degree, I can then get a job at Sac State and I’d never have to leave this beautiful campus!  So I got my undergraduate degree and never left Sac State!

Kim Harrington, Professional Development & Training Coordinator – Kim is another wonderful person who is no longer with us, but I want to acknowledge her because she played a huge role in motivating and inspiring me to further my education as an “older student”.  Kim was the best cheerleader I could’ve hoped to have while I worked towards achieving my Master’s degree, while I was simultaneously working full-time at Sac State and a part-time job as well to make ends meet.

Dr. Bernice Bass de Martinez, who has worked in so many capacities at Sac State, from Department Chair to Provost - but to me, Bernice was a mentor when I didn’t know I needed one, she was a friend when I wasn’t expecting one, and she was always there to gently guide me in my professional life when I needed it most. 

Last but not least, my Dad – Richard Lovine.  All of my young adult years, my dad told me to 'get a good job with benefits and stay put'!  And so I did.  When I received my special anniversary clock from Sac State for my 35 years of service, my dad was on his death bed and could no longer speak.  But I brought the clock to him- to show him- and said that I reached 35 years of service with Sac State; he smiled! At that moment, I knew I made him proud.

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