NOTE: Faculty, if you are interviewed and quoted by news media, or if your work has been cited, and you have an online link to the article or video, please let us know. Contact us at news@csusb.edu.
All politics is gender politics
The New Republic
July 15, 2026
Meredith Conroy (political science) joined Perry Bacon, host of the “Right Now with Perry Bacon” podcast, and Danielle Kurtzleben, NPR White House correspondent, to discuss “how loaded terms like ‘authenticity’ are actually coded by gender. We discuss why working-class masculinity became the template for authenticity in the Graham Platner era, why that same template essentially excludes women candidates, why men like Barack Obama and Zohran Mamdani are allowed to be playful or angry in ways women aren’t, and why Democrats obsessing over ‘electable’ white working-class men might be asking the wrong question entirely.”
Academic: U.S. diplomacy has reached a dead end
Press TV
July 15, 2026
David Yaghoubian, CSUSB professor of history, assesses the geopolitical implications and the prospects for regional stability as the conflict between Iran and the United States enters a new phase and diplomatic efforts collapse.
CSUSB professor comments on Trump administration's cuts to two Utah national monuments by more than 90%
NOTUS
July 13, 2026
Stuart Sumida, president, Society of Vertebrate Paleontology and CSUSB professor of biology, was one of the scientists commenting on the Trump administration’s latest effort to dramatically shrink two national monuments in Utah: Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The move would reduce both monuments to less than 10% their original size, according to presidential proclamations signed on July 14.
When Trump first cut the monuments’ size in 2017, it became much harder for scientific researchers to keep up the pace of their work, said Stuart Sumida, president of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. Even after Biden restored them, the ping-ponging of rules made the area difficult to navigate for researchers, he added.
“Bears Ears covers time ranges from upwards of 50 million years ago, before the beginning of the age of dinosaurs, all the way through the age of dinosaurs. It is one of the most important sequences to understanding the history of the Earth that we have in North America, and that seems not to matter to this administration,” Sumida said.
“And Grand Staircase-Escalante is arguably one of the richest areas of dinosaur deposits in the world, and because of this it is scientifically important and hugely important for eco-tourism,” he said.
Trump moves to slash Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments for second time
Center for Biological Diversity
July 13, 2026
Stuart Sumida, president of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology and CSUSB professor of biology, criticized the Trump administration’s latest attempt to shrink the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah.
“The scientific and cultural importance of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments are unparalleled,” he said. “As stewards of our earth’s history, we are deeply saddened that through its repeated devastation of their protections, this administration seeks to wipe from history both the presence and importance of our Tribal partners, and the scientific importance of the land that came before all of us.
“This action is deeply disrespectful of the Tribal groups in Utah and across America, to the vast majority of Utahns who support these monuments, to those that depend on them for their livelihood, and to the remarkable scientific and cultural understandings that we gain from them.
“Finally, this action is intensely disrespectful to the very office of the presidency of the United States itself, an office that has the privilege, honor, and responsibility to enact such protections, and should not be an office of their destruction,” Sumida said.
The article also appeared in the Sierra Sun Times (Mariposa, Calif.) on July 14 as “Trump Slashes Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments by nearly 3 million acres, center for biological diversity says proclamations would virtually abolish the two monuments.”
A chance encounter led to one of the largest T. rexes ever found. Now, it could be ‘lost to science’
CNN
July 13, 2026
Stuart Sumida, a professor of biology at California State University, San Bernardino, and president of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, was interviewed about the impending auction of a Tyrannosaurus rex fossil on July 14. “If this specimen goes to a private individual, it may or may not ever be seen by the public again,” potentially removing it from ever being studied scientifically. The SVP firmly opposes fossil sales and mandates its members study only specimens held in publicly accessible collections. Doing so is the only way that other scientists can access the same specimens for further study — something that can’t be guaranteed with private ownership.
Sotheby's big T. rex auction raises concerns hype and wealth are upending science
Wired
July 14, 2026
Stuart Sumida, a paleontologist at California State University, San Bernardino and president of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, was among the experts interviewed for an article about the ramifications of dinosaur fossils being held by private owners and the impact that has on scientific research. One pitfall: an auction house’s promotion of a fossil sale using information not verified by scientific examination of the specimen.
The Jurassic perk of being super-rich: your very own dinosaur
The Observer (U.K.)
July 11, 2026
Stuart Sumida, president of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology and CSUSB professor of biology, discussed negative impact of private sales of dinosaur fossils on scientific research on the specimens in light of planned auction of a Tyrannosaurus rex fossil. It “undermines their mission to preserve Earth’s history and limits access for researchers and the public,” he said.
Stuart Sumida discusses his work with movie studios, video game designers
La Opinión (A Coruña, Spain)
July 11
In Spanish: Stuart Sumida, CSUSB professor of biology and president of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, was interviewed about his work with movie studios and video game designers as an anatomy consultant while attending the of Mundos Digitales , the International Congress of Animation, Visual Effects, and New Media, in A Coruña, Spain, July 9-11. Sumida also presented a talk on the past, present and future of paleontology in animation and visual effects.
These news clips and others may be viewed at “In the Headlines.”