Future Doctoral Scholars

Five Students Selected for Statewide Pre-Doctoral Program

August 24, 2010

By Pamela McLaren

Five Cal State Fullerton students have been selected as members of this year’s class of Sally Casanova California Pre-Doctoral Scholars by the California State University. They are among 70 such scholars named statewide.

The program, created more than 20 years ago, is designed to increase the pool of university faculty members by supporting the doctoral aspiration of individuals who are current upper-division or graduate students in the CSU. The awards are named for the late Sally Casanova, who worked with colleagues in the CSU Chancellor’s Office and on various campuses to create the California Pre-Doctoral Program in 1989.

Students chosen for the award are exposed to opportunities to explore and prepare to succeed in doctoral programs by working with faculty members from both the CSU and the University of California.

This year’s participants will work with a faculty sponsor to develop a plan toward their goal, including visits to doctoral-granting institutions to explore opportunities for doctoral study, travel to national symposiums or professional meetings in their field, acquire materials such as reference books, software and journal subscriptions and receive a subsidy that covers the cost of doctoral program application fees, graduate entrance examinations and preparation materials. Next summer, scholars will take part in a summer research internship at a doctoral-granting institution to broaden their exposure to research in their chosen field.

The 2010-11 Cal State Fullerton scholars and their faculty sponsors are:

• Richard A. Morales of Alta Loma
  Sponsor: John D. Ibson, professor of American studies
• Raymond A. Nation of Fullerton
  Sponsor: Maryanne Garon, associate professor of nursing
• Casey Sanchez, of Los Angeles
  Sponsor: Michael Loverude, associate professor of physics
• Burrel J. Vann of Placentia
  Sponsor: Dana M. Collins, assistant professor of sociology
• Sophia T. Yu of Walnut
  Sponsor: Robert T. Watson, professor of music

For more about the program, go to http://www.calstate.edu/PreDoc/scholars_list.shtml, or contact Erinn Banks in graduate studies at ebanks@fullerton.edu.