More California State University, Bakersfield students will be able to access vital support services on campus thanks to the support of a fellow Roadrunner.
Sociology lecturer and double alumnus Dahna Stowe and her sister, Dorie Gutierrez, are donating $125,000 over five years to CSUB to establish the Rasmussen Family Endowment in honor of their parents.
The endowment will support five key CSUB initiatives: SANKOFA Scholars, Excel Scholars, Project Rebound, CARE Services and the Basic Needs Fund, which supports students at both the Bakersfield and Antelope Valley (AV) campuses.
“These programs are aligned with our values. We’re not going to support anything we don’t believe in,” Stowe said. “It was important for us to support those programs, especially ones like SANKOFA that are not as solidified as others and are still trying to build up. Hopefully this will help bring more attention to these programs.”
Stowe, who was a nontraditional student first-generation graduate, earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology from CSUB in 2011 and her master’s in the subject in 2013. She has worked as a lecturer in the Sociology Department since 2015, first at AV and then on the Bakersfield campus. While she still teaches some AV students today, most of her classes are on the main campus.
“I love it. I wouldn't want to be doing anything else,” Stowe said.
Stowe has been a longtime supporter of CSUB. She has been a donor since she first started working at the university, giving $10 a month out of her paycheck to support students.
“Even that helps,” she said. “What might look to some like a measly $120 a year, imagine what that can do for a student, what that can do for a family?”
Director of the Educational Opportunity Program and Special Programs Natasha Harris — who helps run the SANKOFA Scholars and Excel Scholars programs — said that over the years, Stowe has “played a vital role in the support and persistence of our students. Through her generosity, we have been able to provide book stipends, leadership opportunities as well as workshops and opportunities that support career readiness and placement.”
Associate Professor of Sociology Dr. Rhonda Dugan — who now serves as chair of the Sociology Department — has known Stowe since she was a student in her Introduction to Research Methods class, which Stowe now teaches. Dr. Dugan said she was a great student who has gone on to become an essential faculty member in the department who is always willing to go the extra mile to help students.
“She always goes above and beyond what she’s expected to do in her role as a professor. She’s had a great impact on the students and our department,” Dr. Dugan said. “I think what she and her sister are doing with this endowment is remarkable. It’s great that they have a lens on where the need is. It really says something about who they are.”
While Gutierrez isn’t a CSUB graduate, she is excited to be involved with the endowment because it is something that benefits the community that they grew up in.
“We’re just two local girls trying to do some good,” she said. “For us to be able to do what we’re doing I think solidifies our commitment to this community, to our respect for this community, to the fact that we appreciate where we come from and we have never forgotten where we've come from. Bakersfield will always be a part of us.”