Welcome to the Black Student Success Initiative Website! California State University, Northridge (CSUN), from recommendations of the Black Student Success Council and with the support of President Erika D. Beck and Cabinet, launched the Black Student Success Initiative (BSSI) in 2022. This initiative is guided by commitment to fully support every student in their academic journey, in becoming the fullest expression of their unique selves, and in preparing them to succeed in an increasingly diverse and global world. The BSSI work team, comprised of various campus stakeholders, is partnering with Dr. Damon Williams and the Center for Strategic Diversity Leadership and Social Innovation (CSDLSI) to assess and recommend modifying, scaling or enhancing current policies and practices, proposing new initiatives, as well as assessing the university’s capacity to implement a Black Student Success plan that is also aligned with the findings and recommendations of the California State University, Black Student Success Report.
In 2023, the BSSI Consultants initiated their work on campus. Following the in-depth analysis and a series of presentations late last Spring 2024 by Dr. Williams and his team, the final written report was completed:
Recent Milestones
2025: CSUN BSSI Implementation Plan
2024: CA - Black-Serving Institution Designation (SB 1348)
2024: BSSI Consultants Complete Report & Recommendations
2024: CSU Launches Central Office for the Advancement of Black Student Success
2023: CSU Black Student Success Report
2023: BSSI Consultants Hired and Work Initiated
2022: Black Student Success Initiative (BSSI) Work Team
2022: BSSC Recommendations
2021: CSUN Student Analytics Team Report
2018: CSUN Black Student Success Council (BSSC)
Black Student Success Eco-System
California
Black-Serving Institution Designation
Senate Bill No. 1348
Approved September 26, 2024
CSU
Black Student Success
Central Office: Advancement of Black Student Success
Spring 2024
CSUN
Black Student Success Initiative (2023)
Overview of Initiative
This initiative includes several concurrent components:
- Listening, Dialogue, and Community-Building Sessions designed to gather and analyze insights on the lived experiences of CSUN students, staff, administrators, faculty, and alumni.
- A Comprehensive, Culturally Relevant Review of key university policies, programs, and initiatives.
- BSSI Institutes and Forums designed to inform and educate the campus about the progress of the initiative while creating opportunities for community-building and discussions on Black student success and academic achievement.
- Strategic Benchmarking Research, including a general review of the institution’s DEI infrastructure, analyzing trends in academic achievement data, and identifying examples of best practices contributing to Black student academic achievement taking place at CSUN and at other institutions.
- Developing a CSUN Black Student Success Insight-to-Action Strategic Roadmap with monitoring criteria, scheduled for implementation in 2024 and informed by these data and information-gathering efforts.
About Our External Consultants/Partners
To design, lead, and implement this nine-month project (starting in the Summer of 2023), CSUN retained a neutral third party, the Center for Strategic Diversity Leadership and Social Innovation (CSDLSI), based in Atlanta, Georgia.
Founded in 2009 by Dr. Damon A. Williams, CSDLSI’s mission is to empower leaders with the strategies, tools, and resources required to advance the shared and ongoing work of creating more inclusive environments and communities. CSDLSI’s Inclusive Excellence approach focuses on leading institution-wide DEI change efforts.
CSDLSI specializes in:
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Social Climate and Culture Research and Evaluation, such as organizational climate and culture research; campus climate studies with mass survey instrument development and administration; comprehensive qualitative and quantitative analysis; and formal written evaluations with detailed recommendations.
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Organizational Change Management and Strategic Planning, including leading organizational redesign and change management efforts; designing vertical and lateral diversity organizational structures; developing diversity planning and accountability strategies; and establishing strategic faculty and staff hiring and retention programs.
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Professional Development and Training (both in person and online) designed to focus on capability building, strategic diversity leadership development, and current DEI research and best practices.
To learn more about Dr. Williams and the work of CSDLSI, please visit DrDamonAWilliams.com.
Getting Involved
To continue the work, and highlighting Black History Month, CSUN will host the consultants on-campus on Tuesday, February 4, 2025, to provide a briefing on their findings, recommendations and next steps in the implementation process.
We sincerely hope you can attend. Following this briefing, a separate workshop will be held with faculty, staff and administrators to initiate the implementation process of the recommendations. RSVPs will be required for both events.
- Part I (9:00am – 10:30am) – Open to Campus
- Part II (11:00am – 1:00pm) – Faculty, Staff and Administrators
From 2023-2024 BSSI consultation Process:
Initial Campus participation efforts (COMPLETED):
- On-Campus Kick-Off Meeting (October 5, 2023)
- Faculty/Staff/Administrator Listening Sessions
- On-Campus Listening Session (October 5, 2023)
- Virtual Listening Sessions (October 10th – 18th)
- Student Listening Sessions
- On-Campus Listening Session (October 5, 2023)
- Virtual Listening Sessions (October 10th – 18th)
- Alumni Listening sessions (October 18th)
Follow-up Engagement Sessions (COMPLETED):
- Faculty/Staff/Administrator Virtual Engagement Sessions (April 18 & 20, 2024)
- Alumni Engagement Session April 18, 2024
- Student Engagement Session April 20, 2024
Campus Follow-up and Debrief (COMPLETED):
- Wednesday, May 1, 2024 from 10 am – 12 pm (USU Grand Salon): BSSI strategic partners, led by Dr. Damon A. Williams, will share insights, a theory of change on CSUN Black Student Success, recommendations, and how collectively can contribute towards the development of an inaugural Black Student Success Insight-to-Action Strategic Roadmap.
CSUN BSSI Work Team
Initial Work Team Included the following team:
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Dr. William Watkins, Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students (BSSI Work Team Chair)
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Dr. Melanie Bocanegra, Associate Vice President, Student Success
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Debra L. Hammond, Executive Director University Student Union, BSSC Co-Chair
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Dr. Kandace Harris, Associate Dean, Mike Curb College, Arts, Media and Communication
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Dr. Meera Komarraju, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
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Dr. Paul Lazarony, Associate Vice President, Undergraduate Affairs
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Dr. Ryan Mason, Senior Coordinator, Black House/Black Resource Center
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Dr. Amanda Quintero, Senior Advisor to the President for Inclusive Excellence; Equity Innovation Officer for the Global HSI Equity Innovation Hub
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Dr. Freddie Sánchez, Interim Assistant Vice President for Students Affairs, Equity, and Inclusion
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Ashley Talley, Alumnus and Graduate Student
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Dr. April Taylor, Faculty, Child and Adolescent Development
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Dr. Holli Tonyan, Associate Director of Academic Analytics, Institutional Research
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Dr. Theresa White, Faculty Africana Studies, BSSC Co-Chair
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Michael Clemens, Executive Assistant, Student Affairs
CSUN BSSI Contact Information
Upon reviewing these materials, if you have questions, please reach out to Black Student Success Initiative Work Team (bssi@csun.edu)