The Henry Madden Library is pleased to announce that two Library student assistants, Ruben Molina and Vanessa Rodriguez, have been selected as the 2017 William Dienstein scholars. The scholarship was established in 2004 by Mrs. Roslyn Dienstein of San Francisco in memory of her late husband, Dr. William Dienstein.

Dr. Dienstein was a professor of sociology and criminology at Fresno State from 1946 until he retired in 1974. He is credited with developing, organizing and coordinating the criminology program and was one its primary professors. Each William Dienstein scholar will be awarded $1,000.
 
Vanessa Rodriguez is a junior from Corcoran majoring in social work with plans to become an academic counselor. Since her freshmen year at Fresno State, she has worked to support the Library's digitization efforts in the Digital Services Division under the supervision of Olivia Estrada and Maria Pena. She has often expressed appreciation for their patience and guidance in teaching her skills that have given her the confidence to become active on campus and seek leadership roles such as becoming the social media director for Students Organizing for Success (SOS).

Ruben Molina is a graduate student in criminology who plans to become a police officer focusing on community outreach. Molina, who has supported himself through school since he was a sophomore, has worked as a Public Safety Assistant (PSA) in the Library since 2013. He is currently supervised by Bonnie Inthisane. He plans to use the money to further his research on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in veterans and police officers.

Congratulations to both of the Library's 2016 -2017 Dienstein scholarship recipients!