Centers and Institutes

Research Centers

California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center (CICSC)

Director: Joely Proudfit, Ph.D.
SBSB 1118
(760) 750-3535
www.csusm.edu/air/cicsc.html

Mission: The California Indian Cultural and Sovereignty Center will foster collaborative research and community service relationships between the faculty, staff, and students of CSU San Marcos and members of local Tribal communities, for the purpose of developing and conducting research projects which support the maintenance of sovereignty and culture within those communities.

The Center aims to focus on:

Research

Conducting and supporting research and analysis of Tribally identified concerns and questions.

Community

Providing a space for campus representatives and Tribal members to meet and discuss Native American graduates in the context of Tribal needs; finding and retaining the support of American Indian students, faculty and staff while creating a sense of togetherness and belonging among the Indian population both on and off campus.

Guidance

Preparing CSUSM graduates who can serve Indian communities well by helping them support the multiple and complex needs of being sovereign nations.

Education

Establishing new courses and academic programs to meet the changing needs of our students, Tribal communities and stakeholders; serving to amplify the existing academic program connections between CSUSM and Tribal communities through programs in CHABSS, SOE, COBA, Nursing and OBERT; fulfilling an ethical responsibility to local Tribal communities to provide a pathway to higher education for native students.

Outreach

Helping CSUSM continue to recognize and set an example to other universities regarding the importance of cultivating relationships with local Tribal communities; sending a message to Tribes regarding CSUSM’s commitment to the creation and maintenance of such ties.

To learn more about CICSC development, research projects and activities, please contact (760) 750-3535.

Center ARTES (Art, Research, Teaching, Education, Schools)

Arts Building, Room 302
Telephone: (760) 750-4322
http://www.csusm.edu/centerartes

Faculty Fellows: Lucy HG Solomon (SofA), Kristin Moss (SofA), Christiane Wood (SoE)

Director: Merryl Goldberg, Ed.D.

Center ARTES was established in 2003 to partner with local schools and communities to promote and support arts education. A primary philosophy underlying Center ARTES’ work is that the arts are a fundamental aspect of education. Through our long term partnerships with schools, districts, artists, and arts institutions, we connect educators with tools, resources, and personnel to seamlessly integrate the arts into their classrooms, exposing diverse student bodies to a rich, comprehensive arts education while improving student learning across the curriculum.

The major activities of Center ARTES are:

• Professional development for teachers and student teachers
• Access to the arts for children and their families
• Student-led development of STEAM + Literacy curriculum for K-12 classrooms
• Advocacy and strategic planning with school districts
• Leadership and state-wide advocacy on important arts education issues
• Ongoing outreach and research with our open-source bilingual Why Art? Cards

Professional Development for Teachers and Student Teachers

Center ARTES conducts hands-on arts education and arts integrated workshops with local arts and cultural institutions. The Center’s ART=OPPORTUNITY and STEAM Ambassador programs bring together current educators, CSUSM students, and future teachers to integrate art into a broad range of curricula. Past and current partners include (but are not limited to):

• CSUSM School of Arts
• CSUSM faculty from School of Education and College of Business
• Administration
• CSUSM student arts clubs
• CSUSM SASS Programs
• Museum of Making Music
• Playwrights Project
• San Diego Guild of Puppetry
• San Diego Botanic Garden
• The New Children’s Museum
• North County Professional Development Federation
• Riverside County Office of Education
• North County School Districts
• San Diego Creative Youth Development Network

Access to the Arts for Children and their Families

Working with our many partners, Center ARTES makes it possible for thousands of young people to experience the arts in schools and communities. Programs include:

• Performances by arts organizations at CSUSM and other venues
• In-class residencies by professional artists/arts educators
• Performances in cooperation with arts partners at a minimum cost to children and their families
• STEAM+ Literacy kit distribution of lesson plans and materials to kids and classrooms

Advocacy and Strategic Planning with School Districts

Center ARTES can assist with direction for strategic planning, and provides important information related to arts education, advocacy, and research to school districts, teachers, administrators, parents, and school boards.

Leadership and State-Wide Advocacy

Center ARTES is engaged statewide through CREATE CA and the California State Summer School for the Arts.

Center ARTES is supported through the generous donations of individuals and through memberships and grants. For information concerning membership, planned giving, and endowments please contact Center ARTES directly at (760) 750-4322.

Center for Leadership Innovation and Mentorship Building (CLIMB)

Markstein, 353
(760) 750-4234: (760) 750-4237
climb@csusm.edu;
www.csusm.edu/climb
Executive Director: Dr. Rajnandini (Raj) Pillai
Director: Dr. Jeffrey C. Kohles

CLIMB was established in the College of Business in 2004 to foster the development of effective leaders at all levels - individual, team, organization, and community and to serve as a resource for leadership and mentoring to the university and the business community. This mission is achieved by promoting innovative leadership research and by offering educational programs and mentoring opportunities to current and aspiring leaders through some of the following programs and activities.

Leadership Seminars

The goal of this series organized by the CLIMB Executive Director is to bring practitioners and academic scholars to our campus to share their ideas on specific topics related to leadership. The series provides an opportunity for students, faculty, and the general public to come together to discuss and debate important leadership and mentoring issues.

In the Executive’s Chair (ITEC)

CLIMB hosts one of the most popular courses in the College of Business Administration. This course brings in top business and community leaders to talk about their careers, their companies, lessons in leadership, and the critical decisions with which they are commonly faced. The primary purpose of this course is to expose students to these successful executives to better prepare them for their own business careers.

Compassionate Leadership Experience (CLE)

Thanks to a generous gift in 2021 from Lily and Jimmy Thai (MBA, ‘00) through their Build a School Foundation, CLIMB now offers a Compassionate Leadership Experience. The Compassionate Leadership Experience provides nonprofits with limited funds the opportunity to participate in the College of Business Administration’s Senior Experience Program. CLIMB Executive Director, Dr. Raj Pillai worked with the Thais to create the Compassionate Leadership experience through projects submitted to Senior Experience. The goal is to develop compassionate student leaders who will work on projects that help underserved communities (e.g., solutions for the homeless, financial literacy for high school students, societal change through boys and girls’ clubs, and other opportunities for impact).

Outstanding Business Leader Awards

In an effort to recognize effective role models in the business community, each year one local business leader is presented with the Climb Outstanding Business Leader Award. The individual selected for this honor is someone who has demonstrated exceptional leadership within the context of his or her business. He or she is also someone who has championed important causes within the community.

CLIMB Executive Mentoring Program

A mentoring program that matches outstanding student protégés with experienced executives from the greater College of Business Administration (CoBA) business community to deliver a personalized mentoring experience during the culmination of the student’s undergraduate work and the beginning (or continuation) of their professional working careers. The mentoring relationship typically develops over the course of a single semester but often continues after the student has graduated. This program is now being administered by the College of Business Administration at a college-wide level.

The James R. Meindl Student Leadership Award

This award, which is also given out every year, is designed to honor a graduating senior from the College of Business Administration for demonstrating outstanding leadership/mentorship in school, at work, and in the community. The winner must exemplify the Center’s mission. The award is given in memory of Professor James R. Meindl of the State University of New York at Buffalo.

CLIMB Distinguished Fellows Program

This program provides students who show a great deal of promise and are interested in interning with the Center, an opportunity to work on leadership projects with the Executive Director and Directors under their guidance.

Leadership Development and Research

The Center has a dedicated group of business faculty and practitioners who conduct workshops on important workplace issues related to leadership and management. The Center also supports innovative research projects on leadership that has been presented at leading management conferences.

National Latino Research Center (NLRC)

SBSB 2142
(760) 750-8500
www.csusm.edu/nlrc
Director: Konane M. Martínez, Ph.D.

The National Latino Research Center (NLRC) is an applied social science research center with longstanding community and organizational partnerships in the U.S.-Mexico border region. The mission of the NLRC is to promote research, training, and greater awareness on the unique needs and dynamics of U.S. Latina/o communities. The NLRC works in partnership with Latina/o communities, organizations, and public institutions bridging educational and health resources and opportunities.

NLRC engages in research related to health (e.g., mental health, migrant health, indigenous medicine); education (e.g., parent engagement, college and career preparation, youth empowerment, multilingual and multicultural education); civic learning and action (civic mission of schools, voting, volunteering, public policy); and the environment (e.g., healthy communities, environmental justice).

The NLRC organizational structure and activities fall under three major themes:

• Research: To promote the awareness, expansion, and enhancement of culturally sensitive, culturally relevant, and scientifically focused research on Latino populations.
• Training: To offer training and specialized workshops, and to facilitate and organize conferences on substantive topics of critical importance to Latino families to community members, researchers, students, community organizations, and government agencies.
• Clearinghouse: To serve as a repository for empirically based publications, databases, and reports pertaining to substantive issues for Latino populations.

Research Based Services: The NLRC collaborates with university and community partners to share expertise in quantitative and qualitative research design and methods, provide technical assistance, conduct program evaluations and needs assessments, and offer other services aimed at increasing the understanding of Latina/o communities.

Technical Assistance and Data Analysis: Data analysis and interpretation of findings are two critical services the NLRC provides. The NLRC can clarify research designs (quantitative and qualitative) and offer options when results call for new approaches.

Program Evaluation: The NLRC specializes in theory-driven program evaluation focused on programs serving Latina/o populations and tailored to fit diverse client needs.

Needs Assessment: The NLRC conducts state-of-the-art needs assessments which consider the social and cultural context of targeted populations, especially diverse Latina/o populations throughout the United States.

If you are interested in partnering with the NLRC, please contact us at:

National Latino Research Center
Cal State San Marcos
San Marcos, CA 92096
Telephone: (760) 750-3500
Fax: (760) 750-3510
Email: nlrc@csusm.edu
Web site: www.csusm.edu/nlrc

Center for Research and Engagement in STEM Education (CRESE)

Faculty Director: Edward Price, Ph.D., Physics
Associate Director: Sinem Siyahhan, Ph.D., Educational Technology
Program Director: April Nelson

CRESE STEMbassy
Extended Learning Building, Room 208
(760) 750-4725
www.csusm.edu/crese

Mission

CRESE aims to enrich, enhance, and support STEM education in K-12, higher education, and the local community.

Vision

CRESE pursues two interrelated goals:

1. Improving educational outcomes for students in the region
2. Generating new knowledge related to STEM education practices

Youth Programs

We offer a variety of programs throughout the year to meet the needs of youth with diverse backgrounds. 

• Face-to-face Afterschool STEM Program  - A research-based, making-centered after-school STEM program for different social, cultural, and socioeconomic settings. This project brings STEM-based making to North County San Diego K-8 schools by taking equipment, supplies and CSUSM undergraduate STEM majors, or STEM Ambassadors, to after-school program sites. 
• Online Afterschool STEM Program – This online STEM outreach option allows us to reach students in remote locations, and those who prefer an online setting. Students at different school sites meet virtually with highly qualified undergraduate students to think, design, and create solutions to real-world problems using technology tools including game design, coding, 3D modeling, and digital storytelling. In the online version of the face-to-face STEM-based making program, STEM kits are delivered and then built together in a virtual setting.
• Summer and Winter Camps – During school breaks, we offer local youth an opportunity to visit our STEMbassy classroom on the CSUSM campus and spend time exploring and building STEM projects alongside our undergraduate STEM Ambassadors.

Research Support

CRESE supports faculty engagement and research in STEM programs and can be a resource to help faculty connect with colleagues, create proposals related to STEM education and research, and deliver innovative new programs. 

Educator Support

CRESE offers professional development opportunities for educators to support them in integrating STEM into their learning environments. CRESE has created a collaborative community for educators, makers, and after-school providers interested in engaging youth in making. There are also opportunities for teachers to receive professional development credit for their work in maker-based STEM. 

External Partners

• Southern California Professional Development Federation
• Escondido Union School District
• Escondido Union High School District 
• San Marcos Unified School District
• Vista Unified School District
• Oceanside Unified School District
• San Diego County Office of Education, Migrant Education Program
• Fallbrook Union Elementary School District
• Oceanside Public Library
• Escondido Public Library
• Palomar College

CSU Shiley Haynes Institute for Palliative Care at CSU San Marcos

(760) 750-4006
https://www.csusm.edu/palliativecare
Executive Director:  Jennifer Moore Ballentine, Ph.D.
Faculty Director:  Michael McDuffie, Ph.D.

The CSU Shiley Haynes Institute for Palliative Care at CSUSM is the local campus partner institute, affiliated with the systemwide Institute, also located on our campus. The campus Institute at CSUSM is focused on creating innovative research, education, and awareness campaigns to elevate palliative care in the local community.

Unique programs for college students, professionals, caregivers, and the community 

The CSU Shiley Haynes Institute for Palliative Care at CSUSM develops and hosts a wide range of programs for college students, professionals, caregivers and the community to build awareness and improve access to palliative care in the San Diego region. The Institute’s signature “What Gives Your Life Meaning?” campaign has received widespread acclaim. Held annually, it encourages people over 18 to think about what shapes their quality of life and to complete advanced directives that reflect those values. The campus Institute’s mission is to build community awareness of palliative care; to provide education on the benefits of palliative care to enhance the quality of life for those with serious, chronic illness, as well as their caregivers; to promote training in palliative care providers with educational and networking opportunities.

Center for Contemplative Practices (CCP)

Director: Ranjeeta Basu, Ph.D.
SBSB 3130
(760) 750-4176
https://www.csusm.edu/mindfulcsusm/
The Center for Contemplative Practices was established in July 2022, making it the first center of its kind in the CSU. The overall purpose of CCP is to provide support to all members of the campus community and beyond through contemplative practices, pedagogy, and research that foster deep learning, reduced stress, increased capacity for compassionate listening, and increased well-being. Contemplative pedagogy is now widely recognized and accepted by research and practitioner communities as an innovative and effective teaching practice. Research has shown that contemplative practices can help students improve readiness to learn, reduce stress and anxiety, increase focused attention, and regulate emotional reactivity. It can help create more inclusive, identity-safe learning communities that have the courage and resilience to listen and learn from each other and together transform the world.

Our fundamental objectives include:

• Educational effectiveness: Offer services and programming that support student success.
• Accessibility: Offer services and programs that are easily accessible to all CSUSM students, staff, and faculty. Work to ensure that the barrier of cost will not prevent participation by those who can least afford it, but most need it.
• Inclusiveness: Create an inclusive space in which all members of the CSUSM community as well as the surrounding local community feel welcome, especially those from historically marginalized groups.
• Interconnectedness: Offer services and programs that foster interconnectedness and reduce otherness.
• Transformative Education: Offer activities that aspire to be transformative and move us towards a kinder and more just world.

Scope of Activities

• Provide a mix of virtual and in-person workshops and courses in contemplative pedagogy, compassion, mindfulness and social justice.
• Promote and support student and faculty research on contemplative practices in pursuit of academic success and inclusive excellence.
• Offer workshops, consultations, and weekly opportunities to support individual and group mindfulness practice to the entire CSUSM community.
• Provide inclusive spaces for healing and care when our campus community encounters uncertainty, illness, loss, racism, and other personal and social crises, aimed at sustaining the CSUSM culture of care.
• Collaborate with regional entities to promote contemplative practices as a social innovation that emphasizes the importance of sustaining collective mental and physical health.
• Sponsor events and conferences featuring recent developments and research in the study of contemplative practices as a valuable tool in affirming CSUSM’s dedication to academic excellence, diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice.

Center for Training, Research, and Educational Excellence (CTREE)

Director: Denise Garcia, Ph.D.
Associate Director: Richard Armenta, Ph.D.
(760) 750-3680
Location: ACD 410
www.csusm.edu/ctree

Mission
The mission of the Center for Training, Research, and Educational Excellence (CTREE) is to enhance the educational and research experiences of students from historically/presently excluded and underserved backgrounds in higher education. Success is achieved by actively engaging students in research and scholarly activities that support them throughout their educational pathway and into their career. We aim to advance the diversity and inclusivity of the academic and non-academic workforce.

The center serves as the home for several student development programs and focuses on student and faculty career development and institutional curriculum enhancement.

The following programs are currently run by CTREE:

The Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Program is a joint project of the National Science Foundation and The California State University. The objectives of the program are to increase the number of students from underrepresented groups graduating from college with degrees in Science, Technology, and Mathematics (STEM) and to increase the number of students from underrepresented groups who pursue graduate studies in STEM.

The Undergraduate Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (URISE) Program at CSU San Marcos is funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIH/NIGMS). The U-RISE Program is intended to prepare talented and motivated minority undergraduate students majoring in the sciences to enter and succeed in doctoral studies (Ph.D. or M.D. /Ph.D.).

The Ronald McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement (McNair) Program supports both STEM and non-STEM majors in pursuing graduate studies and earning a Ph.D. Eligible students are academically ambitious and motivated to pursue a career in research, academia, or related professional path.

The California Native American Research Centers for Health Student Development (CA-NARCH SDP) Program is funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIH/NIGMS) and is a partnership between Indian Health Council, CSUSM, UC San Diego, SDSU, and Palomar Community College. To actively recruit and support students in science and health fields to increase the number of American Indian/Alaska Native scientists and health professionals and decrease health disparities in Native American populations.

The CSUSM-UCSD Smoke and Vape Free Scholars Initiative Program for Reducing Tobacco Disease in Diverse Communities (SVFSIP) is funded by the California Tobacco Related Disease Research Program (TRDRP) and is a partnership between CSUSM and UC San Diego. The SVFSIP is mobilizing a new generation of tobacco control researchers and advocates to enact change in their communities. Members of racial/ethnic minoritized, low-income, and LGBTQ+ groups are disproportionately targeted by tobacco companies and affected by tobacco-related disease; students from these tobacco priority population groups are the focus of this training opportunity.

The Bridges to the Doctorate Research Training Program at CSUSM, a partnership between CSU San Marcos, UC San Diego and The Scripps Research Institute (B2PhD), is federally funded by the National Institute of Health’s National Institute of General their Medical Sciences (NIH/NIGMS). The national BRIDGES Program prepares master’s students from underrepresented groups, who are interested in biomedical research careers, to seamlessly transition (the Bridge) to PhD programs.

The North San Diego County Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program, a partnership between CSU San Marcos, Palomar College and MiraCosta College (B2B), is federally funded by the National Institute of Health’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIH/NIGMS). The national BRIDGES Program prepares two-year college students from underrepresented groups, who are interested in biomedical research careers, to seamlessly transition (the Bridge) to four-year universities.

The Building Early Awareness and Research in Science (BEARS) Program will support a selected cohort of CSUSM undergraduate students interested in bioengineering research. Each cohort will participate in paid activities and research at CSUSM and UCSD, including workshops and mentoring programs, from the summer before starting at CSUSM through the summer after your second academic year.

Resource Center

Faculty Center

Director: Rebecca M. Lush, Ph.D.

Associate Director for Teaching and Learning: Jimmy Young, Ph.D.

Coordinator: Sonia M. Perez
Kellogg Library, 2400
(760) 750-4019
www.csusm.edu/fc
facctr@csusm.edu

The Faculty Center provides faculty development to all Cal State San Marcos faculty. Our primary mission is to support faculty in their multiple roles as teachers, scholars, artists, intellectuals, and members of the university and wider community at every stage of their career. Through diverse programming, the Faculty Center fosters a culture of continuous improvement in order to positively impact student learning.

The Faculty Center offers programs and resources that promote effective teaching, successful scholarly and creative activity, and effective service and leadership activities. Faculty Center programs and resources support the University mission and serve the needs of our diverse faculty and students.

Faculty Center Goals

Effective Teaching:

• Support the continuous development of excellent and innovative teaching and learning throughout the University.
• Use Faculty Center meeting space, Library, staff support, and other resources to create a teaching and learning resource center tailored to faculty needs and responsibilities.
• Provide faculty with workshops, colloquia, one-on-one consultation and/or video feedback that inspire active reflection and action to improve teaching and learning.
• Create a dynamic forum for faculty to share and discuss teaching and learning through meetings, workshops, newsletters, and outreach.

Successful Research and Creative Activities:

• Support faculty research and creative activity (both individual and collaborative) throughout the University.
• Assist faculty in defining research and creative activity goals and agendas and help them seek funding, including sabbatical, university grants, and external grants.
• Facilitate faculty networking with scholar and artists who share goals and interests at Cal State San Marcos and in the CSU.
• Provide small grants, depending on budget resources.

Effective Service and Leadership Activities:

• Support faculty service and leadership in the department, college, University, and the wider community.
• Increase the volume and improve the quality of faculty service, which in turn supports faculty in the evaluation process, strengthens the university’s curriculum and programs, and fosters collegiality.
• Provide workshops and consultations that focus on developing skills, plans, and reflection in the area of service.
• Use rigorous discussion, collaboration, mentoring, and recognition to promote the goal that faculty make service and leadership a productive and fulfilling aspect of their professional work.