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The Offices of Research, Innovation & Economic Development Sacramento State

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Research & Creative Activity Program

RCA Subcommittee

The Research and Creative Activity Awards Subcommittee, a subcommittee of the Faculty Policies Committee (FPC), administers the Research and Creative Activity Awards program, the University Award for Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity for Early-Career Faculty, and the University Award for Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity for Senior Faculty.

RCA Subcommittee Standing Rules

2026/27 Voting Members

  • Nikos Lazaridis, College of Arts & Letters (Chair)
  • Gwen Begue, College of Health & Human Services (Vice Chair)
  • Mei Shen, College of Education
  • Sudipta Mukherjee, College of Business
  • Vacant, College of Natural Sciences & Mathematics
  • Rachel Flamenbaum, College of Social Sciences & Interdisciplinary Studies
  • Rachel Stark, University Library
  • Vacant, At-Large Member
  • Vacant, Faculty Policies Committee Member

Non-Voting/Ex-Officio Members

  • Andrea Terry, Faculty Senate Chair
  • William DeGraffenreid, Offices of Research, Innovation, and Economic Development

RCA Faculty Awards Program

The purpose of the RCA Awards Program is to support faculty research, scholarly, and creative activity, and to encourage faculty contributions to their disciplines. This program is funded in part through the CSU Chancellor's Office and Academic Affairs. It is administered by the RCA Subcommittee with support from the Offices of Research, Innovation, and Economic Development.

In most cases, award recipients will produce a peer-reviewed and/or discipline or field-specific scholarly outcome, such as an article or manuscript submitted for publication, grant proposal, exhibition, performance, prototype, data collection and/or analysis for a grant proposal or publication, etc. Award recipients must also submit a required project report documenting the results of their work at the conclusion of the funding period.

All Unit 3 faculty are eligible and encouraged to apply (including full-time faculty, part-time faculty, temporary faculty, probationary and tenured faculty, lecturers, coaches, librarians, and counselors, as outlined in the Unit 3 Bargaining Agreement).

2026-27 Call for Proposals posted on InfoReady. Submission Deadline: December 5, 2025, by 5:00 pm.

RCA Awardees

Award for Research, Scholarship & Creative Activity for Early Career

University Award for Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity for Early-Career Faculty

This award was established in 1989 and is given each year to recognize a colleague in the first ten years of their faculty appointment who has made significant contributions to his or her discipline through scholarly activity, research and publication, or creative and artistic endeavors. The award includes $7,500 in professional development funds from the Offices of Research, Innovation, and Economic Development.

Faculty who are eligible for the award must be tenured or tenure-track faculty within the first ten years of their appointment (including tenure and tenure-track appointments at other universities), and must have been employed at Sacramento State for the past three academic years.

The 2025/26 Early-Career Award Winner

Dr. Sayonita Ghosh Hajra, Mathematics & Statistics

Sayonita Ghosh Hajra from the Department of Mathematics & Statistics is the recipient of the Early-Career Faculty Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity Award. She is a scholar, educator, and mentor whose work spans mathematics, mathematics education, teacher preparation, and community-engaged research. She has numerous peer-reviewed publications, maintains broad scholarly collaborations, and has received grants from the Mathematical Association of America and the National Science Foundation. She actively mentors student research and scholarly activity and is committed to broadening access to mathematics through community engagement, including the use of games and puzzles.

Award for Research, Scholarship & Creative Activity for Senior Faculty

University Award for Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity for Senior Faculty

This award was established in 1989 and is given each year to recognize a colleague who has made significant contributions to their discipline over many years during their career at Sacramento State, as evidenced by research, scholarly activity, or creative and artistic endeavors. The award includes $7,500 in professional development funds from the Offices of Research, Innovation, and Economic Development.

Faculty who are eligible for the award must have held a tenured or tenure-track position at Sacramento State for at least ten academic years.

The 2025/26 Senior Faculty Award Winner

Dr. Michal Shilts, Nutrition, Food & Dietetics

Mical K. Shilts, Professor of Nutrition, Food & Dietetics and graduate coordinator, is the RSCA Senior Career Faculty awardee. A recognized leader in community nutrition, she has secured multimillion‑dollar USDA funding to advance equity‑focused childhood obesity prevention, guided goal setting, and validated, culturally tailored assessment tools used nationally and internationally. Her work produces widely adopted interventions, peer‑reviewed scholarship, and extensive research, training, and mentoring opportunities for Sac State students.