Steering Committee

Megan Jennings
Interim Executive Director, CSU Climate Adaptation Consortium

Megan Jennings is a Research Ecologist and co-director of the Institute for Ecological Monitoring and Management at San Diego State University. Her research focuses on advancing conservation and climate adaptation science to increase the resilience of our natural landscapes and local communities to climate change. Dr. Jennings has a broad research portfolio of transdisciplinary, community-engaged science supporting climate-informed management and planning. She also actively participates in groups providing science support to statewide initiatives such as 30x30, the State Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force, and the 5th Climate Change Assessment. She is leveraging her experiences with diverse funding sources and engagement with state science priorities to support the expansion of climate adaptation activities across the CSU.​

Jenn Capps
California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

Dr. Capps has served as Cal Poly Humboldt’s chief academic officer, supporting the implementation of the University’s academic mission and providing curricular and administrative leadership, since 2020. She oversees multiple areas including the Colleges; the University Library; Research and Sponsored Programs; Information Technology Services; Research and Sponsored Programs; Diversity, Equity & Inclusion; and Institutional Effectiveness. Prior to joining the CSU, Capps was a professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Metropolitan State University of Denver, where she also served as the Dean of the College of Professional Studies.

Hala Madanat
San Diego State University
Vice President for Research & Innovation

Dr. Madanat is the chief research officer for San Diego State University, where she oversees all aspects of the university’s research endeavors including the San Diego State Research Foundation. She leads the evaluation of several NIH-funded center grants including the San Diego State University/UC San Diego Cancer Center Partnership. In total, she has served as the principal investigator, co-principal investigator or co-investigator on 15 grants totaling more than $45 million. Prior to assuming her role as vice p​resident for Research ​and Innovation, Madanat served as the director of the School of Public Health where she provided strategic leadership for all policies and programs related to its research, teaching and outreach activities.

David Still
California State Polytechnic​ University, Pomona
Professor of Plant Science
Executive Director, Agricultural Research Institute

Dr. Still is a professor of plant science at Cal Poly Pom​ona, where he leads the Still Laboratory. He is also the Executive Director of the CSU Agricultural Reserach Institute, which provides funding for applied research projects in agriculture and allied natural resources to improve the sustainability and economic viability of California agriculture. His research interests include improving horticultural traits and adaptation to climate change through plant breeding, physiological genetics and genomics. He holds a bachelor’s in wildlife science and a master’s in horticultural science from New Mexico State University and a Ph.D. from Texas A&M University.

Rafik Mohamed
California State University, San Bernardino
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

Dr. Mohamed was named provost and vice president for academic affairs at California State University in 2023. Mohamed joined the university in 2015 when he was appointed to serve as dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, home to 10 academic departments and schools. His previous positions include chair of the Department of Sociology at the University of San Diego and chair of the Department of Social Sciences at Clayton State University in Georgia. He received a bachelor’s degree in sociology and criminal justice from George Washington University and a master’s degree in social ecology and a Ph.D. in criminology, law and society from UC Irvine.

Karyn Scissum Gunn
California State University, Long Beach
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

Dr. Scissum Gunn joined California State University, Long Beach as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs in 2021. Before coming to CSULB, Dr. Scissum Gunn served as an associate vice president in Academic Affairs at Cal State Fullerton since 2017 where she provided leadership for initiatives to bolster inclusive excellence and equitable outcomes for all students. During her tenure at Alabama State University, she garnered $54.5 million in federal funding from NIH, NSF, USDA and U.S. Dept of Education to support scientific research, student training and STEM faculty development, and state capital funding for a new instructional and research facility.

 Jerry Stinner
California State University, Northridge
Dean of the College of Science and Mathematics

Dr. Stinner received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Riverside in comparative animal physiology. After a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Mexico and an Acting Visiting Assistantship position at the University of California, Riverside, he accepted an Assistant Professorship position in Biology at the University of Akron, Ohio. He was there for 23 years, during which he was promoted to Associate and then to Full Professor. He was also appointed Department Head, a position that he held for 12.5 years. In 2005, he accepted the position of Dean, College of Science and Mathematics at CSUN. Among his proudest achievements is the development of a doctoral program in Integrative Biology at the University of Akron, and the Rising Star for Scientific Scholarship designation by Nature magazine in 2016.

Michael Kaufman
San José State University
Dean of the College of Sciences

Dr. Kaufman was named Dean of SJSU’s College of Sciences in 2018 after a year of serving in the role in an interim capacity. He joined SJSU as a lecturer in 1997 while completing a post-doctoral fellowship at NASA Ames Research Center and became a tenure-track faculty member in 1998. Through the years, he has been actively involved in supporting student research opportunities and has received more than $3 million in external funding, achieving the distinction of President’s Scholar in 2012. Dr. Kaufman has more than 20 years of experience at SJSU and has served in multiple leadership roles, including a term as Academic Senate chair and six years as chair for the Department of Physics and Astronomy. He has proven himself to be a skilled leader who will remain focused on supporting student success as he continues to grow the thriving research enterprise in the College of Science through collaboration on campus and with external partners.

Carmen Domingo
San Francisco State University
Dean of the College of Science and Engineering​

Dr. Domingo began her career at San Francisco State University as a faculty member in the Department of Biology in 1997. From 2007 to 2015, she served as Associate Chair of the Department of Biology where she oversaw curricular reform, academic course offerings, and instructor hires. In addition, she oversaw large grants from the National Institute of Health, National Science Foundation, California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and other agencies. Many of these externally funded projects are focused on improving equity, diversity, and inclusion for students and faculty in STEM.  Her research area is in embryology. In 2017, she became Interim Dean of the College of Science and Engineering and in 2019, after a national search, she became the first woman and Latina to serve as Dean of the College of Science and Engineering at San Francisco State. As dean, she oversees 400 faculty and staff members serving over 7000 majors.

Dean Wendt
Cali​fornia Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Dean of the Bailey College of Science and Mathematics

Dr. Wendt is a 1993 graduate of Cal Poly with a bachelor’s degree in biology. He returned to the university as a professor in 2002. In addition to his teaching and research roles, he leads Cal Poly’s Center for Coastal Marine Sciences. Wendt earned master’s and doctorate degrees in biology from Harvard University in 1995 and 1999, respectively. He conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and served as an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro before returning to Cal Poly. He served as associate dean of the College of Science and Mathematics from 2011-14 and has served as dean of research since 2013.