All CSU-ERFSA members in good standing whether faculty, staff, or administrators (a membership application may be made concurrently with a grant application) may apply for funds to support research and creative projects that are in accordance with the following goals:
- Scholarly research on issues important to the retiree as a continuing member of an academic discipline or community.
- Research and scholarly projects that contribute to the quality of life of the retirees in the University system.
- Research and creative projects that contribute to a given academic discipline.
- Research pertaining to the retirement concerns of faculty and staff within the California State University System.
Funds for the CSU-ERFSA grants are provided by the CSU-ERFA Charitable Foundation. CSU-ERFSA makes a contribution to the Foundation in memory of each deceased member. Individual members and friends also may make contributions to the the CSU-ERFA Charitable Foundation to support the Grant Awards Program.
2024 CSU-ERFSA Grant Recipients
By Marshelle Thobaben, CSU-ERFSA Grants Committee Chair
The CSU-ERFA Foundation funded eight proposals in the 2024 grant cycle. The allocation for this cycle was $6,000. The CSU-ERFSA grants committee consisted of George Diehr (San Marcos); Marshelle Thobaben, Chair (Humboldt); and Don Wort (East Bay).
The following CSU-ERFSA members received grants to support their research or creative projects:
Dr. James Brady's (CSULA) grant will cover the cost of radiocarbon dates run on human skeletal remains that he recovered as director of the Petexbatun Regional Cave Survey (National Geographic, Feb. 1993). His research seeks to discover if the structural violence that became endemic in ancient Maya society during the Late Classic Period (600-900 A.D.) was not already well-entrenched centuries before. The results of his research and the radiocarbon dates will be presented at the 90th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology in Denver, CO in April 2025.
Dr. Kimberley Garth-James (CSUS) plans to complete her book, "Revolutionary Widows ACT to Transform Societal Norms and Values," which explores the transformative power of faith and resilience. By integrating historical narratives and events, she highlights the significant contributions of marginalized women to early communities. Drawing connections from past to present, her work aims to enrich higher education curricula and inspire new perspectives on societal change and resilience, all imbued with faith.
Dr. Gamini Gunawardane (CSUFU) plans to survey post-retirement scholarly and other activities of retired CSU faculty, and their overall satisfaction in post-retirement life. He also intends to ascertain whether pre-retirement planning helps to enhance post-retirement life, and whether support available from the university and faculty associations (such as CSU-ERFSA) helps to enhance post-retirement needs such as acceptance and recognition and the opportunity to exercise skills, intellect, and social commitments for positive accomplishments. He plans to submit the results of his study to a professional journal.
Dr. Leigh Kennicott (CSUN) will develop a template that may be duplicated in other retirement communities aimed at enhancing and contributing to the retention of memory in older populations through performance. During her six-week course, with her guidance and help, the residents will develop a timeline of significant events in their lives, followed by series of writing sessions aimed at developing monologues based on participants’ selected moments. By consensus, each participant will choose one or two of those moments to aggregate them into a performance at the end of the class.
Dr. Christopher Kondo (CSUF) has pursued a long-held interest in filmmaking. He plans to make a short video that conveys the benefits of joining the Emeriti of CSU Fullerton to encourage new emeriti to join the chapter and contribute to their scholarship fund.
Professor Alexis Krasilovsky (CSUN) wrote “Tuki the Tiger,” an animated children’s musical screenplay (co-written with Shameem Akhtar of Bangladesh) and Middle Grade (ages 8-12) novel about a timid young Bengal tiger who learns to fight to reunite her family against a backdrop of poachers, a cyclone, and the Bangladesh Liberation War. She also wrote the novel, “A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Woman,” and its screenplay adaptation, “Floating Lessons.” Among the many awards her work has received, she was a finalist in the Gemfest International Screenplay Awards and won Honorable Mention in the New York Screenwriting Awards. She plans to bring her screenplays to the American Film Market (AFM), as well as bringing both of her novels to the Association of Writers and Writers Programs (AWP) Conference in 2025.
Dr. Katharine Davies Samway (SJSU) plans to write up to 10 op-eds by July 2025 focusing on education issues that are often controversial (e.g., book banning, rewriting U.S. history, the role of phonics in reading instruction). Her goal in writing the op-eds is to inform the public about some key education-related issues that are often misunderstood. They will be submitted to online and traditional print newspapers and magazines, including those directed at parents of school-age children.
Dr. Art Shulman (CSUN) is a playwright who wrote the full-length play, “BIAS.” He plans to do a live production of his play at a local LA theater. The play, partially based on a true story, concerns a college professor who is accused of bias and discrimination by a student from a protected class whom he caught cheating. It was selected by a prestigious Los Angeles area theater as one of ten finalists among 325 submissions.