Awards and Accolades: Alumna Makes Inspiring Scientists List

Cal State San Marcos alumna Karina Gonzalez Herrera was named to Cell Mentor’s list of 100 of the most inspiring Hispanic/Latinx scientists working in the United States.

Gonzalez, who earned her bachelor’s and master’s at CSUSM before attending Harvard for her Ph.D. in biology, is now the assistant director of diversity and minority affairs for the Division of Medical Sciences and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Harvard.

Cell Mentor, which compiled the list in honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, selected recipients based on scholarly achievements, mentoring excellence, and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

Cell Mentor is an educational resource that aims to make it easier for biology students and researchers to navigate their careers, get published and strengthen their laboratory skills.

HEED Award

CSUSM received the 2020 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education, for the seventh straight year.

Rankings

• CSUSM made U.S. News and World Report’s list of top Western universities for Top Performers on Social Mobility (tied 13^th), Best Undergraduate Teaching Programs (tied 22nd) and Best Regional Universities West Rankings (tied 60^th).
• The nursing program has been ranked eighth in the state by Nursing Process, a website that simplifies access to nursing education and career information.
• The university was ranked ninth on a list of 2020 Most Affordable Online Colleges for Fire Science Degrees by the website EduRef.net, which provides college planning resources and reviews publicly available data to produce independent ranking assessments of various educational programs.

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Public Affairs Specialist

ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314