Faculty Advisory Board
Shawna Dark, Geography
Assistant Professor of Geography specializing in environmental geography, biogeography, spatial analysis, and GIS. Recently graduated from UCLA, Shawna is one of our newer faculty at CSUN. Dr. Dark has extensive experience in conservation, GIS, and the spatial analysis of environmental phenomena in southern California. She teaches a variety of courses ranging from Physical Geography and Conservation to Introductory, Intermediate, and Advanced GIS courses. Currently she is working on several contracts with the National Wetlands Inventory to document the distribution of wetlands throughout southern California. In addition, Dr. Dark has recently published articles on the distribution of invasive plants in California and is working on several papers analyzing the distribution and conservation of wetlands in California.
Tom Hogen-Esch, Political Science
Director of Policy Studies and Community Outreach of the Center for Southern California Studies and Assistant Professor of Political Science. He has recently published articles in Urban Affairs Review, California Politics and Policy, and California Policy Issues Annual. He is working with Terry Christensen on the second edition of "Local Politics: Governing at the Grassroots (2006). And, he is currently working on a study of the impact of term limits in the California State Assembly. His teaching interests include U.S. and California Government, Public Policy, and Urban Politics. From 1997-1999, he held a staff position for the Los Angeles Elected Charter Reform Commission. He received a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Southern California in 2002.
Ed Jackiewicz, Geography
Edward Jackiewicz is an Assistant Professor of Geography. He has research interests in community development, housing, immigration and assimilation, and local economic development. He is currently co-editing a book on the Geography of Latin America as well as working on a project comparing several pedestrian-friendly tourist spaces in the Los Angeles metro area. He is also actively involved with NEVUVI (Northeast Valley Urban Village Institute), a community development organization located in Sylmar.
David Lopez, Sociology
D. A. Lopez is currently on the faculty in the Department of Sociology, California State University, Northridge. Specializes in criminology, subcultures, and ethnoracial issues. Publications include articles in Popular Culture Review, Crime & Delinquency, Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, Latino Studies Journal, and a book, The Latino Experience in Omaha: A Visual Essay.
Robert G. Marshall, Library/History
Head Archivist for the Urban Archives Center since 1985 and the University Archives since 1992. The Urban Archives Center documents the history of California through its voluntary associations, community leaders and social movements. The University Archives documents university administration and campus life. As an Adjunct Professor in the Department of History, Marshall teaches a series of special focus courses in Archival Administration. Marshall has also been the chair of LA as Subject Archives Forum since its beginnings in 1995. In 2002, Marshall received the award of excellence from the California Heritage Preservation Commission for the publication of "Culturance Inheritance LA: A Directory of Less Visable Archives and Collections in the Los Angeles Region". In 2003, he served on the state wide California Labory History Map Project Advisory Committee.
Merry Ovnick, History
Associate Professor of History specializing in U.S. Urban History, Los Angeles History, Cultural and Architectural History, and the Gilded and Progressive Eras. She also teaches an interdisciplinary course (History, Political Science, Urban Studies) on "Los Angeles: Past, Present, Future." Currently working on a revised edition of her 1994 book, Los Angeles: The End of the Rainbow, and revising her dissertation (2000, UCLA) on the communication strategies of Progressive political reformers and Craftsman aesthetic promoters. Merry serves on the board of the Southern California Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians, the Book Review Editor of the Southern California Quarterly, and the History intern coordinator.
Martin Saiz, Political Science
Martin Saiz (Ph.D. University of Colorado at Boulder, 1992) is an Associate Professor of Political Science. He also teaches Community and Economic Development for the Masters of Public Administration Program. Professor Saiz joined the CSUN faculty in 1999 after teaching for seven years with the Department of Government and International Studies at the University of Notre Dame. Prior to teaching, Professor Saiz directed small town and neighborhood community service centers for the Center for Community Development and Design at the University of Colorado at Denver. There, he developed and supervised community-based projects for the College of Architecture and Planning. In Denver, he was active in local affairs and was served two terms on the City and County of Denver’s Planning Commission.Professor Saiz writes extensively on issues of urban politics, local political parties, economic development, and the effects of voting on public policy His book Local Parties in Political and Organizational Perspective, incorporates studies of seven mature and two developing industrial democracies, and unites them with an original theoretical framework. His articles have been published in the Journal of Politics, Urban Affairs Review, Political Research Quarterly, Policy Studies Journal, Economic Development Quarterly, The Journal of Urban Affairs, and California Policy Issues Annual, as well as other books and journals.
Ward Thomas, Urban Studies
Dr. Thomas is an Assistant Professor in the Urban Studies and Planning Department. His research interests include economic development, urban labor markets, race, and environmental planning. He is currently conducting research on the effects of environmental regulations on industries in Los Angeles. Dr. Thomas has published in the journals, Review of Black Political Economy, The Sociological Quarterly, and Economic Development Quarterly. He teaches courses in urban planning, community development, and public policy. Dr. Thomas holds an M.P.A degree from San Francisco State University and a Ph.D. in urban planning from the University of California, Los Angeles.