Access, Joy, and the Work That Doesn't Wait: Highlighting the Black Deaf Project 

In honor of National Disability Pride Month, observed every July, we're spotlighting the Black Deaf Project, an organization born at the intersection of race, disability, and language. Founder, Lissa Ramirez-Stapleton, Ph.D., shares how a small meetup between Black Deaf students at Cal State Northridge grew into a college tour, a for-credit course, a study abroad program, and a nonprofit that now reaches communities from California to South Africa to France.  

Dr. Ramirez-Stapleton speaks candidly about leading from a place of hearing privilege, of the gap between good intentions and true accessibility, and why joy is as much a part of disability justice as access itself. She offers practical guidance for campus leaders who want to build accessibility, belonging, and equity into everyday practice. Read the full conversation to learn more about the Black Deaf Project and discover what higher education can learn from grassroots work happening outside of the CSU Student Success Network (Network). 

Network Impacts: Cross-Campus Collaborations

This impacts brief focuses on two sets of cross-campus teams that participated in Network-derived communities of practice (ComPs). In both cases, middle leaders from several CSU campuses saw the value of building better understanding and actions across campuses in specific topic areas, and the Network adapted its activities to support their collaborations. This brief examines why the teams came together, what they encountered as they created cross-campus ComPs, and what the implications are for middle leadership across the CSU system. We find that working in collaborative teams across CSU campuses can build valuable relationships among colleagues, engage middle leaders in ways that help to overcome isolation, expand leadership and career opportunities, and share knowledge and programming across campuses.

A Q&A on Holistic Advising: Lessons from Two Campuses

On April 21, 2026, nearly 100 individuals from across the CSU came together virtually to learn about holistic advising reforms at two system campuses. Participants first heard a brief description of a framework for quality holistic advising support (SSIPP) and the positive impact holistic advising has on student success. This was followed by presentations from Dr. Sarah Ellison, Associate Vice President of Student Affairs, and Alvin Nguyen, Director of Student Success, Retention, and University Advising, about Sonoma State’s efforts; and from Dr. Lori Beth Way, Vice Provost of Academic Planning and Dean of Undergraduate Education, and Kimberley Altura, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education, on San Francisco State’s efforts. The convening ended with a Q&A session with the presenters. This Q&A provides insight into the key questions that were covered during the session.   

Equity in Action Grant Spotlight: Advancing HSI Servingness Across the CSU 

The Network is proud to support innovative, action-oriented projects through the Equity in Action (EIA) Grant Program. Designed to invest resources back into the CSU system, EIA Grants empower middle leaders to implement evidence-based strategies that identify, understand, and disrupt inequities while improving student learning, engagement, progression, and completion. Rather than supporting research alone, these grants emphasize action research that leads to meaningful institutional change. 

One of this year's funded projects, Scaling the CSU HSI Action Research Network, led by Dr. Amber Gonzalez (Sacramento State), exemplifies this vision. The project brings together students, staff, faculty, and administrators from twelve Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) across the CSU to examine and strengthen institutional servingness for Latine students. Building on an existing cross-campus collaboration, the initiative will develop a systemwide servingness audit, create a digital repository of effective policies and practices, support student researchers, and provide webinars and public scholarship to help campuses adapt and scale successful approaches. The project aligns with the CSU Student Success Framework by fostering cross divisional collaboration, strengthening evidence-based decision making, and creating practical tools that middle leaders can use to advance equity and student success across the system.