Kegley Institute of Ethics announces 2024-25 Faculty Fellows

Three faculty members receiving support for ethics projects

By California State University, Bakersfield

March 6^th, 2024

Three California State University, Bakersfield faculty members have been given the opportunity to conduct their own ethics projects as part of the Kegley Institute of Ethics’ Faculty Fellows Program.

The institute has announced that its 2024-25 Faculty Fellows recipients are Assistant Professor of Ethnic Studies Dr. Nora Cisneros, Assistant Professor of Management and Marketing Dr. Sunjin Pak and Theatre Lecturer Kamala Boeck.

Dr. Cisneros will receive a course release to conduct her project in the fall, while Dr. Pak and Boeck have each been awarded $2,500 summer stipends.

"Coming from three different schools on campus, this year's fellows show that exciting ethics-related scholarly work is happening across the university,” said Interim KIE Director Dr. Nate Olson. “We are very happy to be able to help support their work.”

Here is more information about the 2023-24 Faculty Fellows.

Kegley Institute of Ethics announces 2024-25 Faculty Fellows

Dr. Nora Cisneros, Assistant Professor of Ethnic Studies

Dr. Cisneros earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology and her master’s and Ph.D. in social sciences and education with a specialization in ethnic studies from the University of California, Los Angeles. Her research interests involve Chicana feminist and critical race studies to examine issues such as educational inequity and Latinx educational pathways.

Her work has been featured in peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Educational Foundations, Language Arts and Feminist Formations. She is the co-editor of the book “Like a Path in Tall Grasses: Race and Refusal in Higher Education,” which is being published this year. Her poetry has been published in various online feminist magazines such as Ginger Zine.

“So much of my professional and personal life’s work aligns with the core values and mission of the Kegley Institute of Ethics,” Dr. Cisneros said. “This faculty fellowship will support my research to envision and cultivate graduate school preparation for students of color at CSU Bakersfield that is transformative and culturally sustaining. I want to extend my deep appreciation to the KIE board of directors, faculty fellows and staff, and the Ethnic Studies Department for this opportunity.”

Dr. Sunjin Pak, Assistant Professor in Management and Marketing

Dr. Pak holds a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and specializes in human resource management. He researches the efficacy of work-family practices such as parental leave and telework alongside leadership’s influence on employees’ work and family domains. Dr. Pak’s work also involves the career advancement of dual-earning couples and female employees.

He serves as an editorial board member of the Journal of Vocational Behavior and has been published in that journal as well as the Journal of Organizational Behavior and the Human Resource Management Journal.

Prior to joining CSUB, Dr. Pak was an automation engineer at Hyundai Motor Company. This role involved designing and developing automation manufacturing facilities in South Korea and India.

His ethics project for fellowship aims to highlight the challenges faced by female employees who are planning for childbirth amid demanding work cultures.

“As a recipient of this fellowship, I feel honored, excited and deeply motivated to pursue this critical area of study,” Dr. Pak said. “The support from the Kegley Institute of Ethics validates the ethical significance of exploring the intersection of leader workaholism, menstrual health and career progression for female employees. It is incredibly gratifying to have the institute recognize the value of this research in advancing ethical leadership and promoting gender equity in the workplace.”

Kamala Boeck, Theatre Lecturer

Boeck has been a faculty member at CSUB since 2005. Originally from New York, she holds a bachelor’s in theatre performance from Niagara University and a master’s in theatre for youth from Arizona State University. She has developed a diverse career in theatre as an educator and performer. Boeck has written plays for young audiences and adults including “Dustbowl Dreams,” “The Water Play, “Becoming Flux” and “When Niagara Falls.”

Boeck draws inspiration from the folklore, mythology and history of different cultures and people for her work. She believes that the purpose of theatre artists is to give voice to those whose stories need to be told.

Boeck will use the fellowship to further her work on “Cataract House,” a musical that tells the story of an Antebellum hotel in Niagara Falls, New York, and its African American wait staff who led double lives as secret Underground Railroad agents helping countless freedom seekers escape to safety in Canada.

“Receiving the Kegley helps to honor that this project is more than an entertainment — it carries weight in telling a history, through the medium of drama, that has been largely buried from the public,” she said. “Black history is American history. Too often when it is shared, it is altered through a white lens. I am working with historical experts and black artists to make sure the voice of the play is centered on the Black characters and reflects their hope, resolve, resilience and heroism.”