Kegley Institute of Ethics announces 2025-26 Faculty Fellows

Four faculty members receiving support for ethics projects

By California State University, Bakersfield

March 19^th, 2025

Four California State University, Bakersfield faculty members will have the opportunity to conduct their own ethics projects after being selected for the Kegley Institute of Ethics’ Faculty Fellows Program.

The institute has announced that its 2025-26 Faculty Fellows recipients are Psychology Lecturer Dr. Allison Evans, Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Director of Interdisciplinary Studies Dr. Tiffany Tsantsoulas, Assistant Professor of Liberal Studies Dr. Adeli Ynostroza Ochoa and Associate Professor of Communications Dr. Kyung Jung Han.

Dr. Han is receiving a course release this fall to pursue her ethics project, which will focus on artificial intelligence in public relations education. Drs. Evans, Tsantsoulas and Ochoa will each receive a $2,500 stipend to support their projects.

“This year’s fellowship projects could not be more timely. The Kegley Institute of Ethics is honored to help support work that advances understanding of critically important issues and shows how we can hold ourselves and others to high ethical standards,” said KIE Interim Director Dr. Nate Olson.

Here is more information about the 2025-26 Faculty Fellows.

Kegley Institute of Ethics announces 2025-26 Faculty Fellows

Dr. Allison Evans, Psychology Lecturer

Dr. Evans has over 26 years in higher education specializing in courses such as social psychology, abnormal psychology and small group dynamics. She holds a Ph.D. in social/personality psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute.

Dr. Evans is certified in several online teaching programs and has contributed to course development and reviews as a peer reviewer for Quality Matters. She also regularly organizes professional development for the Chancellor’s Office, having served twice as a summer associate.

In addition, Dr. Evans has contributed to various initiatives at CSUB, including creating the Heroic Ambassadors Program, which trains faculty on bystander intervention, reducing bias and developing a growth mindset. She holds multiple leadership roles, including being chair of the Psychology Department’s DEI committee and acting as a faculty advisor for the Psychology Club.

Beyond teaching, Dr. Evans is also engaged in community service and consulting. She has served as a working board member for the Heroic Imagination Project and provided consulting for the Kern High School District.

Dr. Evans' ethics project, titled “Understanding and Enhancing the Ethical Treatments of Lecturers in Academia,” is part of a new fellowship funded by Bruce and Jan Hartsell to support research on the treatment of lecturers in the CSU system.

“I am truly honored and excited to receive this fellowship, especially during these uncertain times, as it emphasizes the importance of equity,” Dr. Evans said. “This opportunity empowers me to further explore and advocate for fairness in academic environments, where every educator deserves the support and recognition they have earned. In a period marked by challenges and change, this research becomes even more crucial in creating a more inclusive and just educational system for all.”

Dr. Tiffany Tsantsoulas, Assistant Professor of Philosophy

Dr. Tsantsoulas serves as both an assistant professor in CSUB’s Philosophy Department and also as the director of the interdisciplinary studies program, through which she serves as chair of the Gender Matters program and is leading the effort to develop a bachelor’s program in women’s, gender and sexuality studies.

Dr. Tsantsoulas received her Ph.D. in philosophy from Pennsylvania State University with specializations in feminist and decolonial philosophies, phenomenology and the critical philosophy of race.

Her research focuses on how structural oppressions and privileges are reinforced and challenged within our everyday experience. Dr. Tsantsoulas’ current ethics project examines anti-feminist gender narratives in wellness discourse.

“I have so much gratitude for the KIE and their generous support of faculty research on campus. This fellowship will allow me to complete the next stage of my project on the growing connections between extremist gender and race ideologies and mainstream online wellness content,” she said. “We live in a world where social media’s AI-driven recommender systems are increasingly surfacing content that undermines our shared democratic values. I hope that this work can diagnose the hard to see ethical dangers in online wellness discourse as well as suggest ethical solutions.”

Dr. Adeli Ynostroza Ochoa, Assistant Professor of Liberal Studies

Dr. Ochoa worked 14 years as a bilingual elementary teacher and three years as an instructor in curriculum and instruction at the University of Texas in Austin prior to coming to CSUB.

Her research focuses on bilingual education in schools. She also has research experience involving STEM as it relates to Latinx communities. Dr. Ochoa’s current research interests include the intersectionality of teacher identity, critical content analysis of children's books and feminist pedagogies.

In addition to her teaching, Dr. Ochoa is one of the instructors in CSUB’s Kern Multilingual Residency Program at the Lamont and Arvin elementary school districts.

She also serves on the board of directors for the research, development and service agency WestEd and on the executive board of Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambio Social, a volunteer organization for Chicana, Latina, Native American, indigenous and gender non-conforming academics.

Dr. Ochoa’s fellowship will support her ethics project on Latino representation in children’s books.

“It was an honor to be selected for the fellowship,” Dr. Ochoa said. “I am very thankful for KIE initiating and sustaining this fundamental award, supporting faculty in their research projects and collaborations and inspiring ethical understandings in our community and beyond. With much work ahead of us, I humbly receive the award in the name of all the colleagues, students, familias and the community I have worked with and learned from over the last 20 years.”

Dr. Kyung Jung Han, Associate Professor of Communications

Dr. Han joined CSUB’s Communications Department in 2016 and teaches upper-division courses such as Strategic Social Media, Public Relations and Communication in the Organization.

She holds a master’s degree in journalism and mass communication from the University of Georgia and a Ph.D. in strategic communication from the University of Missouri.

Dr. Han’s research focuses on health communication and can be read in journals such as the Journal of Health Communication and Health Informatics. She also serves on the editorial board of the Korean Journal of Communication by University of Texas Press.

“I am so excited about developing AI-focused educational materials to discuss ethical challenges and boundaries in my discipline,” she said. “I will examine when ethical values are purposely discussed and considered in class and how their following decision-making will be differentiated.”