CSUB students selected for prestigious California Pre-Doctoral Program

Sally Casanova Scholars announced

By California State University, Bakersfield

September 28^th, 2020

California State University, Bakersfield undergraduate students, Anthony Ponce, and Jacob Watson were selected for the prestigious California Pre-Doctoral Program, Sally Casanova Scholars. Jacob Richardson, also a CSUB undergraduate student, received an honorable mention.

Designated Sally Casanova Scholars (SCS), Ponce and Watson, will each receive $3,000, one-on-one guidance provided by faculty members within the CSU, and the opportunity to work with faculty from doctoral-granting institutions.

“This program offers an amazing opportunity for graduate school recruiters to meet with awesome, talented students at CSU Bakersfield,” said Dr. Luis Vega, the interim associate dean of undergraduate studies. He adds, “These students have the potential to be future colleagues, and as far as I know, this is one of the few programs where students who have experienced economic and educational disadvantages can have a chance to join our ranks.”

Since the program started in 1989, 7,100 CSU students have applied, with 31% of them funded. Approximately 40% of accepted scholars go on to fully funded doctoral programs across the nation.

On average, since 2015 twelve scholars are admitted to Ph.D. programs at the University of California campuses. Approximately 8 % of the current CSU faculty are former scholars.

Ponce is being mentored by CSUB economics professor, Dr. Aaron Hegde. Ponce’s major’s emphasis is on the application of sophisticated statistical-analysis and -simulations to explore whether underrepresented minorities and disadvantaged income groups consistently bear more environmental degradation burdens than other ethnic and income groups.

He seeks to determine if developing regions reliant on resource-intensive activity continually emit larger amounts of environmental pollution than urban, non-resource-intensive regions. This work requires detail knowledge of math and statistics, both sub-fields where Ponce is earning degree minors. For his doctoral studies, he hopes to identify courses of actions best suited to reduce environmental degradation.

CSUB students selected for prestigious California Pre-Doctoral Program

Watson is mentored by CSUB psychology professor, Dr. Amy Gancarz-Kausch. His major’s emphasis is on neuroscience and psychopharmacology, with research focus on drug addiction and substance abuse and their influence on neurophysiology and resulting behaviors. He examines how sucrose exposure in adolescence impacts future susceptibility to use and abuse drugs. His research suggests a link between adolescent sucrose exposure and increased susceptibility to cocaine and ethanol addiction in adulthood. His plans are to attend a doctoral program in neuroscience and to do research on opioids’ early susceptibility antecedents to addiction.

Richardson is mentored by CSUB sociology professor, Dr. Rhonda Dugan. His research focuses on affirmative consent policy and conceptualization of consent as a function of sexual orientation, for which he has a manuscript under review for possible publication. He is applying to sociology doctoral programs and seeks to further study the social construction of consent in prevailing societal norms on sexuality, current socialization practices, and institutional pressures.

Sally Casanova Scholars and those who received honorable mentions will also explore graduate opportunities and resources by participating in numerous workshops offered by the California Forums for Diversity in Graduate Education. Planned by a consortium of public and private colleges and universities from throughout California, these diversity forums are designed to meet the needs of advanced undergraduates and master's candidates who belong to groups that are currently underrepresented in doctoral-level programs.