CSUSB Professor Wins CSU Students' Top Award for Advising

Dany Doueiri, an assistant professor and coordinator of the Arabic Language Program at Cal State San Bernardino, was named the 2015-2016 winner of the Faculty of Year Award for Advising by the California State Student Association. The award was announced during the May 25 meeting of the California State University Board of Trustees. Doueiri, who was unable to attend the meeting, said he was deeply thrilled because it came from the student association. “I feel honored and absolutely humbled because it was from student nominations,” Doueiri said. Students “understand the importance of advising. For students to succeed, advising is a critical part of the puzzle.” Cal State San Bernardino President Tomás D. Morales, who accepted the award on Doueiri’s behalf, said he wasn’t surprised that Doueiri, who joined the university in 2002, was recognized by the students. “This is a well-deserved honor for Dany. He is an amazing instructor, whose dedication to students through teaching, advising and interaction sets the gold standard for faculty on our campus,” Morales said. “I’m delighted for him and we’re very fortunate to have him on our campus.” Alfredo Barcenas, a CSUSB student who serves as CSSA vice president of University Affairs, said Doueiri “was well qualified and well deserving of the faculty award based on his accomplishments at CSUSB, but most importantly his engagement with students. Dr. Doueiuri is a clear example of the diverse representation within our campus, constantly being a champion for students.” “As a member of CSSA I had the opportunity to engage with the rest of the CSU system and learn about their uniqueness,” Barcenas said. “We are lucky to have Dr. Doueiri on our campus, more importantly, the CSU students are lucky to have him in our system.” Earlier this year, Doueiri was named the winner of the university’s highest honor for teaching – the CSUSB Golden Apple Award for Teaching Excellence. The award is given based on student surveys, faculty classroom visits and reports, and to the faculty member who has shown the most innovation and demonstrated success in teaching. Barcenas said some of the points in nominating Doueiri related to his winning the Golden Apple Award, and “his dedication to students inside and outside of the classroom and his commitment to ensuring that his students learned about diverse issues.”One of the more powerful points made in Doueiri’s nomination related to a speech he gave during the vigil after the mass shooting in San Bernardino on Dec. 2 that resulted in the death of 14 people and wounding of almost two dozen others. “His speech was very inspiring to the campus community and San Bernardino community as a whole,” Barcenas said. “At that moment he stood up for students and the challenges that came with discrimination after these events.” Doueiri works with the university’s Summer Language Intensive Program, which he helped to grow from its initial offering of three beginning-level courses taught in six sections during the 2001-2002 academic year to a burgeoning program currently offering 55 different courses in 75 sections. It serves more than 1,000 students from across the nation per year. The program, which features instruction in Arabic, Chinese, Korean and Persian, also grew from one part-time lecturer to having three full-time faculty and six adjunct faculty, some of them teaching at a nearly full-time load during the academic year while others join the program during the Summer Language Intensive Program. Doueiri, who joined Cal State San Bernardino in 2001, has a bachelor of science in international agricultural development from Cal Poly Pomona, a master’s degree in education from UC Davis and a Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from UCLA. Each year, the governing board of CSSA, comprised of Associated Student Representatives from the 23 campuses, nominate CSU administrators and faculty who not only empower students to be leaders and to affect change, but who are also the strongest allies of the students on their campus and across the CSU system, said Meredith V. Turner, the association’s interim executive director. The other honorees are: Christine Miller, CSU Sacramento – Faculty of the Year Award for Innovation; Lupe Garcia and Larry Norton, CSU Chancellor’s Office – Bob Linschied Trustee of the Year Award; and Steve Relyea, CSU Chancellor’s Office – Administrator of the Year Award.