Three students have been accepted into the Chancellor’s Doctoral Incentive Program (CDIP) through their affiliation with Stanislaus State, with the goal of becoming California State University tenure-track instructional faculty members.
The three include Brett Ashmun, a full-time lecturer in liberal studies; Christine Parisek, a master’s student in ecology and sustainability; and Kelly Ward, who will be pursuing her doctorate in sociology.
The CDIP program, which began in 1987 across all California State University schools, offers financial aid and faculty mentorship to guide doctoral students and provide collaborative teaching and researching opportunities. Since the inception of the program, Stan State has had more than 30 CDIP scholars, but rarely multiple scholars in the same year.
“Having three applicants awarded in one year from our campus has been unprecedented in the last few years and is an exciting development,” said Ashley Reeves, campus coordinator for the CDIP program.
Ashmun earned his master’s degree from Stan State in 2015 before joining the Liberal Studies Department in 2017. He immediately made an impact, as students met his high expectations in the classroom through his motivation and personalized support.
“One of Brett’s great strengths is his ability to develop meaningful relationships with a wide range of students, as attested by the fact that so many consider him a mentor and role model.” said Katie Olivant, chair of the Liberal Studies Department and Ashmun’s CDIP faculty mentor. “It is no surprise that his classes are the first to fill when registration opens.”
Of the three scholars, Ashmun will be the only one returning to Stan State in pursuit of his doctorate. He will enter the educational leadership program, focusing on education assessment, with a goal of improving educational quality in the Central Valley.
Parisek plans to build on her Stan State research this fall at the University of California, Davis, as a doctoral student in biology.
Just prior to receiving her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Saint Mary’s College, Parisek decided to change paths by enrolling at Stan State in pursuit of a master’s degree in ecology and sustainability.
“Since that point, she has re-directed her academic focus to ecology, with a focus on aquatic ecosystems,” said Matthew Cover, associate professor of biology and Christine’s CDIP faculty sponsor.
Cover also serves as faculty director of the Center for Excellence in Graduate Education (CEGE), a department that works with potential master’s and doctoral students from application through graduation. Cover has worked alongside Parisek during her research at Stan State and looks forward to jointly taking part in the CDIP program.
“Since she began our M.S. program in August 2016, Christine has been enormously productive and successful,” said Cover. “I am excited for Christine to become a professor and colleague in the CSU system.”
Part of what makes the CDIP program unique is that it is not limited to CSU students. Ward, who received a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Religions and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Washington, found a faculty sponsor at Stan State. Dana Nakano, assistant professor of sociology, is mentoring Kelly as a doctoral candidate while she attends UC Irvine. Although Kelly received her education outside of CSU programs, her involvement in the CDIP program could create a path toward becoming a CSU tenure-track faculty member after she has completed her doctorate program.
The CDIP program loans up to $10,000 per year over the course of five years, with a maximum total loan amount of $30,000. The program incentivizes scholars to pursue full-time teaching employment at a CSU campus, offering loan forgiveness at 20 percent for each year of post-doctoral teaching. After five years of full-time teaching, scholars can be forgiven the full loan amount.