Provost's Newsletter January 2023 cont...
Graduate Studies Awards 15 Scholarships
The Office of Graduate Studies provides several scholarship opportunities to assist graduate students pursuing their graduate education. This is the second year we have awarded the following scholarships; Alumni Higher Education, Domestic Non-Resident, Graduate Dreamers and the International Graduate Student program. Recipients of these scholarships will each receive $1,200.
This year Graduate Studies was able to provide a total of 15 scholarships. Students who received these prestigious awards represented the Colleges of Arts, Media, and Communication, Education, Business & Economics, Humanities, Science & Mathematics and Social & Behavioral Sciences. The breakdown by scholarship opportunities is listed below.
- Alumni Higher Education Program: 4 Award Recipients & 2 Honorable Mention
- Domestic Non-Resident Program: 1 Award Recipient
- Graduate Dreamers Program: 3 Award Recipients
- International Graduate Student Program: 4 Award Recipients & 1 Honorable Mention
Meet the Dean: Shari Tarver Behring, Ph.D., Michael D. Eisner College of Education
1. What brought you to CSUN and how long have you been Dean?
I am in my 37th year teaching or serving as Dean in the Michael D. Eisner College of Education at CSUN. I’ve convinced a few folks on campus I began here when I was 12! Actually, I began as a part time lecturer in 1986 while completing my CA. license in Psychology. I have always loved teaching and jumped at the opportunity in the Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling soon after my family moved to Los Angeles from the Midwest. I was fortunate to be hired as a tenure track faculty/coordinator in School Counseling/School Psychology in 1991, then was Department Chair for 9 years, before assuming my current role as Dean.
2. What do you like most about your position?
This seems like the perfect opportunity to brag about my college. I am fortunate to be the leader and collaborator in a college with amazing faculty, staff, and students! The culture in this college is very supportive, and the work-teaching, grants, programs, centers, community and school engagement-reflects our transformative and passionate commitment to social justice. We are recognized as one of the largest, highly regarded teacher education colleges in the CSU system, we have outstanding counseling, administration, and early childhood programs, and our Deaf Studies Department is the largest in the country. Our faculty are truly inspirational, many with national and international reputations; our staff are talented, committed, and caring; our students are outstanding and go on to assume leadership roles at CSUN and in local and national positions. And our centers! We serve literally thousands of children and families in the areas of child abuse and domestic violence; providing assessment, tutoring, counseling, and educational support for PK-12 students, especially those with neurodiversity and in underserved schools; offer life-changing culturally inclusive marriage and family therapy; engage in professional development programs in DEI, retention of teachers of color, universal design, literacy, math, and so much more to hundreds of teachers and schools. We started the CHIME institute, recognized nationally as a model for full inclusion schools. My co-administrators and chairs are some of the best on campus. Even after 37 years, I am grateful and inspired by everything happening in this college!
3. What would people be surprised to learn about you?
I grew up in South Dakota as the daughter of a very liberal, social justice minded United Methodist minister. He was homeless growing up, and deeply understood and taught me about equity, access, and inclusion. My passion for social justice was reinforced while earning my Doctorate in Educational Psychology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. I met my husband while we were both undergraduate students at the University of South Dakota. We moved to Wisconsin, then to Los Angeles, so he could pursue a career in directing film. He just completed directing his 130th hour of primetime television, FBI International, which aired in early January on CBS. We have three adult children, a daughter Marisa, who earned a credential and M.A. from the CSUN COE Early Childhood Education Program and a son Chuck, who graduated from the CSUN AMC Music Industry Program. Our daughter Andi graduated from Sac State in television and film. Marisa is now an Early Childhood Teacher of the Year in the Sulphur Springs District, Chuck is a music instructor and composer with an MA in in Music Composition and Performance from Cal Arts, and Andi is a TV Director in Atlanta. My husband has taught directing classes at CSUN and continues as a guest lecturer in the AMC College. My husband and I are committed to the arts and avid supporters of the Soraya on campus. We are truly a CSUN engaged family!
4. Is there anything else you would like to share?
I am passionate about the importance of taking care of ourselves in Institutes of Higher Education. We need to take care of ourselves much more than we do, and by taking care of ourselves, we are much happier and better able to do our life work. I started a faculty and staff self-care program in our College of Education nine years ago, called the SUN (Self-care for U at Northridge) program, where we held weekly meditation, nutrition, sustainable gardening, and other wellbeing activities led by wonderful experts from right here on campus. I switched to sending weekly self-care messages to our college community when the pandemic began and also maintain a college website with a multitude of resources. Recent self-care messages address radical self-care and the connection between antiracism, social justice work and the importance of self-care. SUN Program | California State University, Northridge
Last year I collaborated with wonderful campus partners to develop and implement the Campus Care Recovery Program for the entire campus community (students, faculty, staff, administrators) through COVID funding with support from the Provost Office. We held a student art contest, faculty research, 4 presentations, and a conference, all focused on COVID related trauma recovery, with over a thousand participants. We also started the CSUN Revitalize website with links to all CSUN wellbeing resources in one centralized location. We continue to maintain this website, post upcoming activities, and offer a monthly newsletter. Revitalize: The Campus Care Recovery Program - CSUN
I also encourage all CSUN employees to take advantage of the free CALM meditation and relaxation app included on the Revitalize website. I listen to it on my way to the university! Calm for CSUN Employees
I am so thankful for my many CSUN colleagues and students over the years and am especially grateful to the friends who have been there to support me on this incredible journey at CSUN.