As I refect on the past year and look ahead to the next, I remain deeply inspired by the extraordinary talent, energy, and promise within SDSU’s College of Arts and Letters (CAL). It’s an exciting time to be part of this vibrant community—one grounded in curiosity, creativity, and a drive to make a meaningful impact.
This momentum would not be possible without your generosity. Your support fuels vital programs, innovative research, and student-centered initiatives that empower our faculty and students to lead, question, and create. In a world facing complex cultural, historical, and societal challenges, the work happening in CAL is more essential than ever.
As dean, I am committed to strengthening our connections—within SDSU and beyond—to ensure that the humanities and social sciences continue to illuminate our shared path forward. This impact report ofers just a glimpse of what we’ve accomplished together and the remarkable progress your philanthropy makes possible.
Thank you for being an essential part of our journey.
Todd Butler, Ph.D. Dean College of Arts and Letters
Propelling the SDSU Community Forward
Kit and Karen Sickels Endowed Chair in University Heritage and Community Engagement
A transformative $2.5 million gift has been made to establish the Endowed Chair in University Heritage and Community Engagement at San Diego State University. Through this endowed chair, the aim is to amplify the university’s historical contributions and its ongoing role as a community partner.
The inaugural chairholder, Professor of Anthropology Seth Mallios, will use the endowment to expand research, education, and public programming focused on SDSU’s heritage. With enhanced resources, Mallios and his team will be able to explore the university’s history more deeply, support student involvement, and engage the public through exhibitions, publications, and community events.
The gift ensures that SDSU’s story continues to be told—and celebrated—while laying the groundwork for future generations to connect with the university’s enduring impact and identity.
Soonja Choi Director of Korean Studies Endowment Fund
CAL’s expanding Korean Language and Culture Program owes much of its success to the dedication of individuals like Professor Emerita Soonja Choi. As a longtime faculty member, Dr. Choi played a pivotal role in launching the Korean Studies Program in 2008. Since its inception, the program has ofered comprehensive courses in Korean language and culture, integrated into various interdisciplinary degrees and enriched by dynamic cultural events.
The Soonja Choi Director of Korean Studies Endowment Fund ensures a vibrant and enduring future for generations of SDSU students. This generous support will fuel new initiatives such as student scholarships and leadership funding for the center, continuing the program’s growth and vitality.
CAL’s First-Generation Fund
Generous donors to CAL’s First-Generation Fund—the primary benefciary of the college’s 2025 Day of Giving campaign—help address equity gaps in student success for transfer and frst-generation students. The fund provides critical support for the CAL Student Success Program, where frst-generation students can access supplemental advising, academic support, and a welcoming community at SDSU. Firstgeneration students often struggle when transitioning to a four-year university, but they fnd a home and a sense of belonging in CAL through this program.
Thriving in the Aztec Experience
Feliza Alipio Jocson, Class of 2025
Class Level: Undergraduate Student
College: College of Arts and Letters
Major: ISCOR and Spanish
Feliza Alipio Jocson, CAL’s 2025 Outstanding Graduating Senior, majored in International Security and Confict Resolution (ISCOR) and Spanish. Her dual majors complemented each other, broadening her worldview and sharpening her ability to connect across cultures and causes. She embraced a global, inclusive lens in her academic work, with a particular focus on feminist foreign policy and confict in global systems.
Beyond academics, Jocson was a community leader and an active contributor to campus life through her involvement with the Women’s Resource Center, the Language Acquisition Resource Center, and the Defend Migrants Network. She envisions a future in social services or law.
Feliza’s dual majors broadened her worldview, sharpening her ability to connect across cultures and causes, driven by a passion for feminist foreign policy and inclusive global systems.
Ethan Pellegrini, Class of 2025
Class Level: Undergraduate Student
College: College of Arts and Letters
Major: Political Science and History
Ethan Pellegrini, a recipient of the 2025 SDSU Quest for the Best Award, double-majored in political science and history, with minors in ISCOR and interdisciplinary studies through the Weber Honors College.
Throughout his time on campus, he served as vice president of fnancial afairs for the CAL Student Council; contributed to Associated Students committees; edited Splice, The Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship at SDSU College of Arts and Letters; presented research; studied abroad in France; and interned with the U.S. State Department.
Pellegrini’s internship with the U.S. State Department allowed him to support international environmental and human rights policy eforts—experiences that reinforced his commitment to legal advocacy. He aspires to attend law school and focus on environmental justice.
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Ethan’s
diverse leadership roles and State Department internship fueled his passion for environmental justice, shaping his goal to pursue law school and advocate for global human rights and policy change.
Andrés Peñalosa Reyna, Class of 2025
Class Level: Graduate Student
College: College of Arts and Letters
Major: Geography
Andrés Peñalosa Reyna ('23, '25), a frst-generation graduate student who recently completed his master’s degree in geography, was honored with the President’s Award at SDSU’s Student Symposium (S³) for his research presentation on transnational urban forests in the Tijuana-San Diego region. Through interviews with regional stakeholders, his work addresses the lack of data on urban forest planning and aims to inform future policies in urban Mediterranean climates.
He represented SDSU at the 39th Annual CSU Student Research Competition and will continue his academic journey at UC Irvine this fall, pursuing a Ph.D. in Urban and Environmental Planning and Policy.
Pictured above from left to right: Dr. Fernando Bosco, Department of Geography Chair, and Andrés Peñalosa Reyna
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Andrés Peñalosa Reyna’s research on Tijuana-San Diego urban forests reveals vital data gaps and guides sustainable planning, earning him the President’s Award and a spot at the CSU Student Research Competition.
Celebrating Shared Success
Recent Highlights
CAL welcomed nine new faculty members and received CSU approval to ofer SDSU’s frst undergraduate AI degree: Artifcial Intelligence and Human Responsibility. This unique program blends technical AI training with ethics, sustainability, regulation, and societal impact.
In March 2025, CAL launched the Asian American Studies Department (AAS), supported by an $850,000 Mellon Foundation grant to develop a community-focused curriculum. The department emphasizes storytelling, oral histories, and community engagement.
CAL’s Center for Skateboarding, Action Sports, and Social Change began a partnership with The Skatepark Project (TSP) to expand research and promote the physical, mental, and social benefts of skateboarding culture.
The Department of Anthropology celebrated its 60th anniversary with a party at the Mingei Museum in Balboa Park. More than 75 alumni spanning six decades joined distinguished emeriti faculty, current faculty and staf, and campus leadership to mark this milestone. Seth Mallios, professor of anthropology and inaugural Sickels Chair in University Heritage and Community Engagement, provided a retrospective on the department’s many achievements.
The College of Arts and Letters’ Center for War and Society and the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft co-sponsored a lecture by Oliver Stone aboard the USS Midway.
With CAL’s new Community Engagement Grants Initiative, faculty and students are working directly to serve San Diego’s unhoused population, assess language needs across the city’s diverse communities, and build local collaborations alongside visiting international artists.
Pleased to share our E-magazines for the past academic year:
CAL Fall 2024 E-magazine
CAL Spring 2025 E-magazine
New Faculty
CAL welcomed nine new faculty and launched SDSU’s frst AI degree, combining tech skills with ethics and societal consideration to train responsible AI leaders.
60 years
Anthropology marked 60 years with alumni and faculty by celebrating the department's legacy at Balboa Park’s Mingei Museum, honoring decades of achievements.
Transforming Lives
Achievements:
Janet Franklin, Ph.D.
Title: Endowed Campanile Foundation Professor of Geography, Center for Open Geospatial Sciences, Campanile Foundation Endowed Chair in Geography
College: College of Arts and Letters
Janet Franklin, Endowed Campanile Foundation Professor in the Department of Geography, is part of an international research team studying human origins in South Africa.
At an archaeological site central to understanding human evolution, she digitally reconstructs ancient landscapes dating from 50,000 to 170,000 years ago. Her modeling captures how environmental shifts transformed grasslands into coastlines and back, ofering critical insights into how early humans adapted during a formative period of cognitive and cultural development.
A member of the National Academy of Sciences, Franklin has authored over 175 scientifc papers and holds afliations with institutions worldwide, including Nelson Mandela University. Her work continues to infuence how scientists understand ecological resilience and sustainable stewardship in a rapidly changing world.
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Janet Franklin’s groundbreaking research reveals how early humans adapted to dramatic environmental shifts—advancing global understanding of our evolutionary past.
Achievements:
Matt de la Peña, M.F.A.
Title: Assistant Professor of Fiction
College: College of Arts and Letters
Matt de la Peña’s acclaimed picture book Milo Imagines the World made its stage debut at the Chicago Children’s Theatre on October 12, 2024, bringing Milo’s imaginative journey to life through music and performance.
The adaptation follows three years of development and adds to de la Peña’s growing infuence in children’s literature, particularly with stories that tackle themes like identity, incarceration, and social justice. The book has earned recognition as a New York Times bestseller and as a “Best Book of the Year” by several major publications and public libraries.
Matt de la Peña’s picture book titled Milo Imagines the World takes the stage with music and heart, bringing themes of identity and justice to life for a new generation.
Achievements:
Olivia Chilcote, Ph.D.
Title: Associate Professor of American Indian Studies
College: College of Arts and Letters
Olivia Chilcote was named a 2025 SDSU Presidential Research Fellow and received $25,000 to further support her research, scholarship, and creative activities.
Her research and teaching focus on interdisciplinary American Indian Studies, California Indian Studies, federal Indian policy, American Indian identity, and Indigenous feminisms. Chilcote plans to use the fellowship award to conduct research for her second book manuscript, which will reorient the historiography of California to center on the Luiseño/Payómkawichum experience.
“Congratulations to Olivia Chilcote, named 2025 SDSU Presidential Research Fellow! Her groundbreaking work will reshape California history through the Luiseño/Payómkawichum perspective.
Supporting Aztecs in Perpetuity
New Endowments
The Mother of Edward Y. Uechi ISCOR Scholarship for Study Abroad Endowment
The Mother of Edward Y. Uechi ISCOR Visiting Speaker Endowment For External Community
The Skatepark Project Center for Skateboarding, Action
