CSUSB's Clifford Young honored at the 2009 White House Conference on historic black colleges

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SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - Cal State San Bernardino professor Clifford O. Young has been honored by two organizations for his work in promoting the advancement of educational opportunities for minorities in higher education.

Young, who serves as principal investigator and special assistant for federal relations to CSUSB President Albert Karnig, received his most recent award during a White House conference on Aug. 30, in Washington, D.C., in recognition of his outstanding contributions to historically black colleges and universities. The award was presented by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Minority Serving Institutions/National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education Leadership Fellows.

Earlier this year, Young received the Innovation in Technology Award from the Washington, D.C., chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers for his visionary leadership and innovative development of technology programs. Programs created by Young have not only supported the development of new technologies, but have also provided technology-related educational opportunities for higher education students.

Young is honored to have received both awards and strongly believes in the importance of supporting opportunities for students to engage in technology research.

"The world has changed so dramatically over the past decades due to advances in technology, and it is clear that technology will continue to shape the future and play a dominant role in our lives," Young said. "Technology has the capacity to improve lives and solve problems, but in order to develop these potential new, beneficial technologies, we must educate and nurture future scientists who can advance technology on a global basis."

During his tenure at Cal State San Bernardino, Young has been instrumental in the development of several technology and public policy programs. The most recent has been the Innovation and Policy Analysis Project, which not only works to foster the development of new technologies, but is also addressing public policy barriers that hinder the development and deployment of these technologies. Through this project, CSUSB is developing a collaborative relationship with the U.S. Military Academy at West Point that will provide educational exchange and research opportunities for Cal State San Bernardino students and faculty.

One of the projects for which Young was recognized was developed along with Fredrick Humphries during Humphries' tenure as president and CEO of the National Association for Equal Opportunity. Young developed a concept to enable science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) majors from historically black colleges and universities to combine their expertise in STEM disciplines with leadership skills and knowledge in entrepreneurship programs.

Humphries embraced the concept and a partnership began. Young also teamed with the U.S. Army research laboratory to develop the Integrated Technology Transfer Network Program, which provides the opportunity for STEM majors to earn credit toward an M.B.A. in entrepreneurship at CSUSB. He worked very closely with NAFEO and Morgan State University in Baltimore to open the program to more qualified students.

"The recognition is certainly enormously well-deserved," Karnig said. "Clifford fought hard for the ITNN program - and others, as well - and he was the germinator of the very ITTN idea."

The ITTN program compliments the NAFEO Kellogg Leadership Fellows program in developing experts with combined STEM and entrepreneurial expertise. One of the goals of the CSUSB-ITTN program is for the fellows from the program to provide unique and creative ideas that will assist scientists in advancing technology.

Young has been responsible for raising funds to support the program, generating more than $7.5 million over the past five years to support 54 fello

Cal State San Bernardino professor Clifford O. Young has been honored by two organizations for his work in promoting the advancement of educational opportunities for minorities in higher education.