California Assemblyman Warren T. Furutani was sworn into office on Sunday, March 16, in the Palm Courtyard of the Loker Student Union on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH). He is the first Asian American to represent the 55th Assembly District, representing the communities of Wilmington, Harbor City, Harbor Gateway, Carson, and parts of Long Beach and Lakewood.

When Victor Rodriguez, M.D. (Class of ’92, B.S., biology) was growing up in Torreon in the state of Coahuila, Mexico, a young medical student showed him and several other boys a cadaver lab. The initial shock gave way to fascination and eventually three of the boys grew up to become doctors, Rodriguez recently told a biology class at California State University, Dominguez Hills. The top vascular surgeon for Kaiser Permanente in northern California returned to his alma mater to encourage students to reach for their dreams.

Laura Robles, dean of graduate studies and research and professor of biology at California State University, Dominguez Hills, was recently appointed to the executive committee of the Western Association of Graduate Schools (WAGS) as a member-at-large for two years. She was designated for this honor at the organization’s annual conference, held March 7-9 in Denver, Colo. and hosted by the University of Denver.