Cal State San Bernardino recognized two individuals and two organizations on Oct. 12 for serving as outstanding partners in community engagement with the university.

Awardees included CSUSB faculty members Nerea Marteache, an associate  professor of criminal justice and director of the Center for Criminal Justice Research, and  Francisca Beer, a professor of accounting and finance and director of the Jack H. Brown College of Business and Public Administration Office of Academic Equity. Also recognized were the Inland Empire Resources Conservation District and the Carolyn E. Wylie Center for Children, Youth, and Families.

CSUSB President Tomás D. Morales described community engagement and giving back as part of CSUSB’s DNA. “When we see these actions in others, we need to recognize them,” he said.

“This award celebrates the exceptional work of community partners and recognizes their importance in developing opportunities for students and faculty to engage in and learn from the community,” said  Diane Podolske, director of Service Learning and Community Engagement in CSUSB’s Office of Community Engagement.

“The recipients showcase exceptional leadership in teaching all partners about their organization, culture, and systems; showcase an excellence in the supervision and mentoring of students in meaningful service-learning opportunities that address community issues; and showcase leadership that promotes and embraces CSUSB students’ service-learning and civic action within their organization,” she said.

Marteache received the Outstanding Community Engagement Faculty Award for her deeply innovative and engaged academic work. This recognized her history of community collaboration and change, along with her role in elevating CSUSB as an institution committed to the development of a stronger and more engaged civic society.

Marteache used her own community-based research experiences as a foundation for service learning courses. That research included partnering with Metrolink, a commuter train system servicing southern California, to study growing public safety concerns on rail lines. It also included partnering with the California State Park Rangers in the Redwood National and State Parks along with Humboldt State Park.

Beer was recognized with the inaugural Community Engaged Scholarship Lifetime Achievement Award for her outstanding and sustained accomplishment in community-engaged scholarship through research, creative activity, teaching, service and practice throughout her career. 

Beer’s focus on meeting the needs of financial literacy in the region, including the highly underserved African American community, has created and facilitated numerous events. These opportunities also encourage African American participation in higher division accounting and finance courses.

The Inland Empire Resources Conservation District (IERCD) was recognized with the Outstanding Community Partner Award for providing and sustaining project-based learning, faculty-student research activities, student learning resources, internships and employment opportunities.

The IERCD  has played a crucial role in redesigning the CSUSB Department of Geography and Environmental Studies courses. Furthermore, the organization’s staff have served as guest lecturers and are represented on multiple campus-based committees.

The Carolyn E. Wylie Center for Children, Youth, and Families was also recognized with the Outstanding Community Partner Award for its partnership with CSUSB since 2002, especially for public health nursing community clinical placements. In addition, the Wylie Center has provided the community with important mental health and family services, including the Autism Clinic and the Inland Empire Perinatal Mental Health Collaborative. 

The Wylie Center was an important co-educator for public health nursing undergraduate students, for graduate students’ thesis projects and for clinical sites for the Randall Lewis Health and Policy Fellowship.

Learn more at the  Office of Community Engagement.