As higher education continues to become more and more critical in helping improve lives, it also includes a commitment from students and alumni to give back to their communities, helping historically marginalized students to improve their lives through expanded educational equity and opportunities.
That will be the focus of the latest Cal State San Bernardino’s Yotie Talks on Monday, May 23, from noon to 1 p.m. at the CSUSB Santos Manuel Student Union Theater. The event is free and open to the public; parking at the university is $6. Refreshments will be provided by the CSUSB Human Resources Department.
'Our Stories, Our Communities: What is Our Responsibility to the Inland Empire?' will be presented by Louie F. Rodriguez, a CSUSB associate professor of higher education.
Co-director of the Doctorate in Educational Leadership program at CSUSB’s College of Education, Rodriguez will use his story as a CSUSB alumnus and now professor to connect with the CSUSB community. He will share the impact CSUSB mentors and college opportunities played in his life, and how he uses his current scholarship to make a positive change in the Inland Empire and beyond.
Yotie Talks is a topical lecture program similar to TED Talks, where dynamic experts from CSUSB’s faculty talk about current and topical issues that impact the region, the state and the nation, and encourages questions and discussions from students, faculty, staff and community residents to promote better understanding.
Rodriguez is the author of three books: “Intentional Excellence: The Pedagogy, Power, and Politics of Excellence in Latina/o Schools and Communities,” “The Time is Now: Understanding and Responding to the Black and Latina/o Dropout Crisis in the U.S.,” and “Small Schools and Urban Youth.”
A CSUSB graduate with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, Rodriguez received both his master’s and doctorate degrees in education at Harvard.
For more information on Yotie Talks, contact Felix Zuniga at fzuniga@csusb.edu or (909) 537-5095.
Set in the foothills of the beautiful San Bernardino Mountains, CSUSB is a preeminent center of intellectual and cultural activity in inland Southern California. Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2015-2016, CSUSB serves more than 20,000 students each year and graduates about 4,000 students annually.
For more information about Cal State San Bernardino, contact the university’s Office of Strategic Communication at (909) 537-5007 and visit news.csusb.edu.