The Paul MacKay Chandler Memorial Scholarship Fund was established in 2008 by members of the Chandler family to honor the memory of Paul MacKay Chandler. Paul MacKay Chandler was a 1963 graduate of the Sociology Master's program. He taught for the San José State University Administration of Justice Department (now the Justice Studies Department) and served as a Federal Probation and Parole Officer until his retirement at the age of 53. Mr. Chandler was passionate about social justice, and worked with the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Hesperian Foundation. His work made him a nationally recognized expert on social justice in the correctional system, and he was called upon to testify on this subject before Congress.

The Fund is a permanent endowment, awarded each spring to those students who have demonstrated exemplary scholarship in the previous fall and spring as demonstrated by their performance on the research methods or social theory written comprehensive examinations, or similar examinations at the discretion of the Department chair.

 SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS:

Rebecca Elizabeth Bivona-Guttadauro Spring 2013 Rebecca was born and raised in Southern California. She attended Santa Clara University where she earned her Bachelor's degree in Sociology. She was eager to continue her education in sociology and applied to San Jose State's Master's program. Post-graduation, Rebecca hopes to look for a career in research while also holding teaching positions in the local community college. Her main research interests are gender, family, and work-family balance. She is married to her wonderful husband Nick and they have two dogs.		Babak Bob Miri Spring 2013 Babak Bob Miri's  adult life was informed from his childhood experiences as the firstborn son of Persian immigrants and the subsequent sense of being an “outsider” in relation to his classmates in his primary school days. Being surrounded by privileged children at a private parochial school instilled in him a sense of being different and what he would later find out was called economic class. His high school years were marked by the infusion of music and arts, which informed him of social, political, economic and, cultural injustices. After graduating with a bachelors degree in marketing Babak was estranged and at odds with what he learned in business school and the function of capitalism. While going to school he was working at a retail store that had union representation. Through the many battles with management over wages, benefits and, working conditions he then realized he must further his education so that he could promote and advance the cause of working people. He applied and was accepted to the graduate sociology program at San Jose State University where his concentration is in labor and social justice.
Adeste Sipin Spring 2012 Adeste Sipin graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), with a Bachelors in Economics and a 2nd bachelors in Asian-American Studies. After UCLA, he relocated to Las Vegas, NV and worked as an Academic Advisor at Nevada State College (NSC). It was at NSC where Mr. Sipin started questioning social issues after taking his first Sociology class on gender. This class culminated in a paper on policy effects on transgendered individuals that he presented at the 2009 Pacific Sociological Association Conference.		Amanda Conley Spring 2011 Amanda Conley was born and raised in Central California and holds a degree in Mass Communication and Journalism from California State University, Fresno. After completing her master’s degree in Sociology at San José State University, she hopes to continue her education by entering a doctoral program that will allow her to study human rights and social inequality.		Jessica Ramirez Spring 2011 For the last one and a half years Jessica has been working hard in medical school at St. George's University in Grenada. Medical school was very challenging in the first year, and since she has learned to study effectively and efficiently. This means she has had little time for anything but school. For one term she went weekly to the local hospital and a local clinic where she conducted patient interviews and worked with local physicians, thereby learning a little bit about the healthcare system here in Grenada.She is currently in her 5th term and will be returning to the US in July 2013 for the first test toward her medical practice. She hopes to be able to do her rotations through clinical practice in California.
Amber Colbert (formerly Wyatt) Spring 2010 Amber recently married Andrew Colbert. She has been teaching at Palomar College, San Diego City College, and a private nursing school United States University. On average, she teaches about 6 courses a semester. So far, she has taught Introduction to Sociology, Social Problems, Human Sexuality, Marriage and Family, and Critical Perspectives in Society.		Elia Nino Spring 2010 Elia currently works for a Business Intelligence Consulting Company called Saama Technologies, where he uses "predictive analytics" which he finds exciting.  His education has helped in his work with statistical methods and he is considering pursuing more education and training in quantitative methods.		Crystal Paul Spring 2009 Crystal Paul, MA 2009, is currently director of the Office of Volunteers at American Red Cross, Santa Clara Valley Chapter. Crystal was the recipient of the award for the best theory and research methods comprehensive exams which were completed in Spring 2008.
Wendy Mantilla (formerly Stevens) Spring 2008 Wendy is currently working at Scottsdale Prevention Institute - a local nonprofit working as a prevention specialist.  Her role is to provide prevention services to schools in the Scottsdale Unified School District. These services range from individual counseling to small group programs to classroom presentations.		Luke Plurkowski Spring 2008 Since graduating with his MA degree, Luke has been promoted to a senior research position at the Palo Alto Research Center, a Xerox Company, where he continues to work as a corporate ethnographer/interaction analyst.