Insight Magazine
Get a new perspective on the College of Arts & Letters at SDSU. Discover news about CAL students, faculty, donors, and alumni. This new magazine highlights the stories of the people within our academic community. It gives you insight into the breadth of activities and achievements that have impact locally, nationally, and internationally.
Fall 2025
I’m delighted to announce that we are making strides as we focus on world and career readiness for students. With our new program CAL Advance, students are learning from the very first semester how to best make an impact in their communities and workplace.
Starting with our new AI degree, we're also reimagining our curricula, finding new ways to reassert the continuing value of the humanities and social sciences in a world that surely needs the deep knowledge, integrative insights, and continuing passion that characterizes the best of our fields.
We’ve also begun renewed efforts to make our work visible for and connected to the many communities we serve.
- Community Engagement | Faculty and students work to serve our communities
- Impact-Focused Scholarship | Students engage in impactful research that contributes to a more connected city
- Faculty Contribution | Emerita faculty secures a legacy through philanthropic efforts
You’ll find ample evidence of engagement and community connection in these newsletter stories about students, faculty and alumni. And, don't miss learning about how our faculty experts contribute to local, national, and international news reports in the CAL in the NEWS section. You can learn more about CAL community impact at cal.sdsu.edu.
Thank you for another extraordinary semester in CAL!
Todd Butler, Dean
College of Arts and Letters
Students ‘break bread’ with homeless communities in community engagement grant project
At the Uptown Community Service Center, students gain insights into challenges faced by unhoused individuals while exploring broader public policy reform.
Geography Lecturer Adam Pine’s goal is clear: make an impact in San Diego unhoused communities through service-learning experiences and classroom assignments. In his San Diego State University “Breaking Bread Project,” students participate in hands-on learning to explore the instability of food access and housing — all with the aim of driving positive and lasting change.
Access to Justice Scholarship recipients share insights about Indonesia
Four students spent four weeks in Indonesia to study human rights issues.
For four weeks this past summer four students from San Diego State University had an opportunity to study at the Faculty of Law at the University of Jember (UNEJ) in Indonesia through an SDSU Center for Human Rights scholarship. Students attended daily lectures, engaged in experiential field excursions, and attended a three-day Human Rights Conference organized annually by the UNEJ (and partners), hosted at the University of Airlangga in Surabaya.
Irene Lara named Alumni of Distinction Award Winner for CAL
Irene Lara, associate professor in the Department of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies is featured as the 2025 awardee from the College of Arts and Letters.
Lara is a Chicana scholar, writer, teacher, femtor (feminist mentor), and spiritual activist who recently celebrated her twenty-year anniversary as a professor in San Diego State University’s Women’s Studies Department.
Research discoveries ignite conversation in CAL religion courses
Ishai Mishory, assistant professor in the Department for the Study of Religion asks students to meditate on Judaism, sustainability and spirituality.
When students in San Diego State University’s study of religion courses gather in Assistant Professor Ishai Mishory’s classes, they don’t simply discuss religion — they unravel centuries-old treasures linking art, identity, and spirituality. From the printing presses of Renaissance Italy to the sustainability challenges of the modern world, Mishory’s research sparks lively conversation about what it means to live thoughtfully in relation to religion, history, and society.
Bridging big data science and human connection to improve the health and welfare of the unhoused
NSF grant guides new research promoting collaborative solutions in the U.S.-Mexico border region.
On the streets of San Diego — under bridges, in encampments, or in shelters — more than 10,000 people are experiencing homelessness as reported in the 2024 Point-in-Time study by the Regional Task Force on Homelessness.
Emerita professor's generous gift bolsters the Korean Studies program
The longtime linguistics professor seals her legacy and ensures the continuance of the popular program with an endowment and scholarships
When she arrived at San Diego State University from the East Coast in 1987, Soonja Choi was one of only four Korean professors across the entire campus.
She remembers feeling lucky to teach on a campus in a city full of sunshine, beautiful trees and a temperate climate. “The sky was blue, the palm trees were there and SDSU really embraced me from the very beginning.” She was hired to teach language acquisition and the psychology of language. “I was an immigrant, and I was happy that I had a place that welcomed me as a professor, as a profession, as a professional.”
Peloton CMO, Megan Imbres, finds her creative calling in a global marketplace
International business alumna remained open to opportunity and stepped out of her comfort zone — to build a meaningful career.
Megan Imbres (‘04, international business) is a creative-at-heart. Just watch the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show with Rihanna or Peloton’s latest ad campaign.
Anthropology // Professor Erin Riley was interviewed for the news story, “Western lowland gorilla breaks glass panel at San Diego Zoo." CBS8
Economics // Alumnus Chris Lynch was featured in an alumni news story and video. SDSU Alumni
English and Comparative Literature // Y Howard received an Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant for "Erratic Erotics: Analog - Sexualities - Mortalities." Book awardees receive $50,000 in support of their work. Arts Writers More on the 31 grant recipients: Hyper Allergic
Geography // Professor Trent Biggs, Sagar Parjuli, Fernando de Sales, Haley Ciborowski are co-PIs on a study cited in an AP article: “In a California farming region, researchers are mapping rural heat to protect farmworkers.” AP News
History // Professor Pierre Asselin was featured in a long-form interview about his research on Vietnam. Talk Vietnam
ISCOR // Uechi ISCOR Lecture with Sherri Goodman. Watch the entire lecture.
Center for Skateboarding, Action Sports, and Social Change // Professor Neftalie Williams was interviewed in feature stories about The Stoke Sessions 2.0 conference. NBC7 | KPBS Midday Edition
Political Science // Professor Mikhail Alexseev appeared in a live interview on Deutsche Welle German World Service TV in a discussion about talks to end Russia's war against Ukraine. Deutsche Welle
Political Science // Alumnus John Fiske and his family, along with two postdoctoral research scholars from CAL — Brooke Rose and Clarissa Rodriguez are featured in the award-winning documentary film, “The Most Biodiverse Place in America.” The film premiered at SDSU to a sold-out crowd in November at the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union Theatre.
Also, the Fiske Legal Series event with guest speaker California Attorney General Rob Bonta can be seen its entirety, here.