Affiliate Faculty

Ivy A.M. Cargile is an Associate Professor of Political Science at California State University, Bakersfield. Broadly, her research interests focus on political behavior in the U.S. context. She is particularly interested in how the intersections of gender, race, and ethnicity effect the electoral behavior of both political elites, and the electorate at large. Specifically, she is interested in how diverse political participants perceive a Latina candidate who represents the intersection of gender, and ethnicity. Likewise, she explores how both Latina political actors, and other female politicians of color influence policy outcomes, and represent their constituents. She also focuses some of her research on the public opinion of Latina/o/x voters as a way to develop a better understanding about how policy issues such as immigration, and women’s rights effect the participation of this community. Her work has appeared in Political Research Quarterly, as well as in multiple books on the topics of Latina politicians, Latina/o/x voters, and immigration policy.

As a result of her research interests some of the courses she teaches are Latina/o/x and Black Politics in the U.S., Immigration Politics, Women in Politics, Research Methods, Elections and Political Parties, and Public Opinion.

Dr. Adriana Cervantes-González is a full-time Lecturer with the Department of Teacher Education in the College of Social Sciences and Education, where she serves as the lead Faculty for the Teacher Residency for Rural Education (TRRE) Project. 

She comes to our campus with 21 years as an educator serving faculty, students, families, and communities in both K-12 and higher education settings. Dr. Cervantes-González is a proud first-generation graduate of the CSU earning her Master’s Degree in Education with an emphasis in Counseling and Student Services, with distinction - and her Doctorate of Education in the area of Educational Leadership at Fresno State. Dr. Cervantes-González’s primary research interests include the praxisof culturally responsive teaching pedagogies and culturally relevant practices as she supports teacher candidates and teacher leaders in embracing their full social identities in their teaching. She maintains an intentional focus on serving Latina/o/x aspirational educators and in advocating for an assets-based approach to education that affirms the diverse demographic groups represented in schools. Dr. Cervantes-González also works with graduate students who are working towards their Master’s Degree in Education with an Emphasis in Curriculum & Instruction.

I am an Associate Professor of Political Science and the Director of the Pre-Law Program at California State University, Bakersfield. I teach courses in our pre-law curriculum, American Politics, Politics and Religion, and Research Methods.

My research interests are in the fields of politics and religion, gender, government institutions (with particular attention to the the presidency and the courts), and political rhetoric.

Within the field of politics and religion, I am interested in religious elite influence on public opinion, female religious leadership, and the legal elements and arguments surrounding religious liberty and conscience protection.

Regarding presidential and political rhetoric, I examine how leaders’ language changes during times of crisis and  how religious rhetoric is utilized by elected officials in order to sway and/or garner public support.

I also study constitutional law and judicial decision-making behavior.  My current work as a Kegley Institute of Ethics Faculty Fellow, analyzes the different voice debate among male and female judicial offers and how this impacts the language of court opinions, judicial discretion, and behavior.

Professor Amin Malek graduated in 2002 in Computer and Electronic Engineering. He obtained his Master’s in Electronics Engineering in 2006 and his Ph.D. in 2009 specializing in Computer Systems Engineering from Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and University Putra Malaysia (UPM), respectively.

Following his Ph.D. in 2009 he worked in the industry for one year as a senior optical engineer at Significant Technologies. In Jan 2010 he moved to the University of Nottingham as an Assistant Professor. In 2012 he was promoted to Associate Professor, and in 2017 to Professor of Optical Communication Systems. In 2020 he moved to the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the California State University, Bakersfield, California, USA.

Dr. Malek is a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy (FHEA), a Senior Member of IEEE, a member of Engineering Council (CEng), IET and Optical Society of America (OSA), and has published over 100 scientific research papers, a postgraduate textbook, as well as delivering keynote speeches at different international scientific conferences around the Globe. Up to now, he is the holder of 4 patents on Optical Fiber Communication Systems. 

Dr. Olson serves as Interim Director of the Kegley Institute of Ethics. Previously, he served as KIE Associate Director from 2017 to 2023.

He is also the Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies and Associate Professor of Philosophy. Dr. Olson teaches courses in both ethical theory and practical ethics, with a particular emphasis on ethical issues in professional life and the sciences. He believes ethics education works best when conversations cross disciplinary and community boundaries and enjoys fostering such conversations through his work with the KIE.

Much of Dr. Olson’s research has addressed issues in bioethics, including both research and clinical ethics. He serves on CSUB’s Institutional Review Board and is a member of the Dignity Health Memorial Hospital Ethics Committee.

Dr. Olson received his PhD in philosophy from Georgetown University, and prior to coming to CSUB, was a post-doctoral teaching fellow in the Thinking Matters program at Stanford University, where he also worked with the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics. 

Dr. Jeremiah Cho Sataraka is a full-time lecturer in the Ethnic Studies Department at CSUB. He teaches Pacific Studies, Asian American Studies and Ethnic Studies courses and is the co-chair of the LGBTQ+ Pride Faculty & Staff Affinity group. Dr. Sataraka’s primary research interests include conceptualizing an emergent Ocean Critical Race Theory and increasing the visibility of QTPI (Queer and/or Transgender Pacific Islander) activists and communities like U.T.O.P.I.A. (United Territories of Pacific Islander Alliance).

Dr. Sataraka received his Ph.D. in Cultural Studies & Social Thought in Education from Washington State University (Pullman, WA). Prior to coming to CSUB, he worked with a non-profit organization in Fresno serving primarily Southeast Asian communities to increase COVID-19 education and vaccination rates, and the Central Valley Pacific Islander Alliance (CVPIA).

Dr. Tsantsoulas received her Ph.D. in philosophy from the Pennsylvania State University (2020) with specializations in feminist and decolonial philosophies, phenomenology, and the critical philosophy of race. Her research examines how structural oppressions and privileges are reinforced and challenged within our everyday experience. She has published articles on disorientation, fragility, feminist and decolonial resistance, and food ethics. Her current project examines anti-feminist gender narratives in popular wellness discourse. As Director of Interdisciplinary Studies, Dr. Tsantsoulas serves as chair of the Gender Matters program committee and is leading the effort to build a Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies B.A. program at CSUB.

Dr. Di Wu is associate professor of accounting and was interim chair of the accounting and finance department. Dr. Wu’s teaching interests include managerial accounting, financial accounting, and data analytics; his research interests include accounting ethics, executive compensation, applications of big data and data analytics, and cost accounting issues.

Dr. Wu also serves as a board director of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA); past president, president, vice president, treasurer of the IMA Wild West Council; and treasurer and financial literacy chair of California Society of CPAs (CalCPAs) Bakersfield Chapter.

His passions include not only engaging students in learning, but also supporting student success outside of classroom. In 2019, Dr. Wu advised an accounting student on the accounting ethics study, titled "Arthur Anderson: The Rise and Fall of the Accounting Industry's Gold Standard" that later won the first prize award in the CSUB research day and that competed at the state level. Dr. Wu also advised a team of four CSUB accounting students in the 2019 IMA National Student Case Competition, who won the finalist award and became the first team from the West Coast making into the final round. In 2021, Dr. Wu was a faculty co-organizer of the 2021 CSUB Digital Marketing and Business Analytics Hackathon, which attracted many student participants and made CSUB the first university in the central valley promoting digital marking and business analytics through the student case competition.

Dr. Wu is also a recipient of several prestigious awards, including CSUB 2020-2021 Promising New Faculty Award, the 2019 IMA R. Lee Brummet Distinguished Award for Educators, and the 2019 PBD Yvonne Captain Faculty Award for Outstanding Contributions to International Education.