CSUSM Professor Receives 2017 Wang Family Excellence Award

SAN MARCOS – California State University San Marcos psychology professor Keith Trujillo has been recognized with the prestigious 2017 Wang Family Excellence Award in the category of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Public Service. The California State University’s Board of Trustees will honor Trujillo at its Jan. 31 meeting in Long Beach.

The annual Wang Family Excellence Award recognizes four outstanding faculty members and one outstanding staff member from the California State University system who, through extraordinary commitment and dedication, have distinguished themselves by exemplary contributions and achievements. Their activities advance the CSU’s mission and enhance excellence in teaching, scholarship and service. Each recipient is given a $20,000 award.

“It’s an incredible honor,” Trujillo said. “I work with some extraordinary people here at Cal State San Marcos and in the entire California State University system, and this award could have gone to any number of people who are deserving. So, I feel this is more of a recognition of the work we all do, rather than an individual award.”

The Wang Family Excellence Award is the latest in a long list of honors for Trujillo. In 2001, he earned CSUSM’s President’s Award for Scholarly and Creative Activity. Among the numerous recognitions since then is the National Award of Excellence in Mentorship from the National Hispanic Science Network on Drug Abuse; the Award for Education in Neuroscience from the Society of Neuroscience; and the National Award for Research from the National Hispanic Science Network on Drug Abuse.

Trujillo’s areas of specialization are psychopharmacology and neuroscience, and his current research focuses on the behavioral and neurobiological effects of psychoactive drugs.

Trujillo has trained scores of first-generation college students in his psychopharmacology laboratory at CSUSM, with more than half of them transitioning to Ph.D. programs at some of the most prestigious universities in the country.

He mentors scientists from disadvantaged groups nationwide as co-director and principal investigator of a prestigious National Institute of Mental Health summer program at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Massachusetts. And he serves as director of the CSUSM Office for Training, Research and Education in the Sciences, which has recruited, trained and mentored more than 600 students in STEM fields over the past decade.

About California State University San Marcos

Building on an innovative 26-year history, California State University San Marcos is a forward-focused institution, dedicated to preparing future leaders, building great communities and solving critical issues. Located on a 304-acre hillside overlooking the City of San Marcos, it is the only public four-year comprehensive university serving North San Diego, Southwest Riverside and South Orange Counties.

The University enrolls over 15,000 students. With approximately 2,000 employees, the institution is a Great College to Work For® (The Chronicle of Higher Education). As a recipient of the annual HEED Award since 2014—a national honor recognizing U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion—CSUSM is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment.