Expanding Research at PSFA

San Diego State University School of Communication professor Rachael Record is the new lead of Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity (RSCA) for the College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts (PSFA), with the goal of securing increased funding and engagement for research driven endeavors for faculty and students. 

Since SDSU achieved R1 status in February 2026, the university’s commitment to research and innovation carries greater significance and opportunities for grants and funding. Being designated an R1 institution signifies that SDSU  has achieved the highest level of research activity according to the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. As PSFA’s RSCA lead, Professor Record aims to make the support and resources needed to pursue R1-level research accessible to everyone across the college.

The PSFA Research and Innovation website states PSFA has received $6.72 million in active external research funding, with 35 externally funded research projects from  14 principal investigators. Record aims to increase these numbers. 

“
If we want SDSU to see PSFA as R1, then we need our RSCA work to be appreciated as R1. I think that this position is a direct line to that change on campus,” said Record. 

Record shared that half of her goal is “to raise awareness about the RSCA activity that's just happening all the time every day in our college.” She has collaborated with SDSU web developer Jay Hunter to publish PSFA’s first Research and Innovation webpage. Encouragement and engagement are central to Record’s efforts to expand participation in RSCA across PSFA. She invites faculty to participate in spaces that foster creative and innovative conversations surrounding research, such as at the Department of Research and Innovation’s (DRI) Discoveries and Dialogues monthly colloquium, where faculty can share their latest projects and meet other researchers. 

Additionally, Record will partner  with the SDSU Division of Research Innovation  to host a workshop exclusively on funding for the arts to assist faculty seeking funding to understand the foundation process. 

She also works with recently hired faculty to explore  external funding for research, and guide them through the application process to help elevate their work on a university-wide level. 

Record explained that traditionally, much of PSFA’s RSCA activity is not identified and tracked in traditional ways, which creates unique roadblocks for the funding and recognition of research. 

“Right now it's sort of just cleaning up, building systems, promoting what's being done, and then trying to make sure everything we're doing is counting as much as possible,” said Record.  

With higher levels of funding for faculty RSCA, Record also seeks to pave the way to greater access for student involvement.

“Research is an incredibly translatable career skill. And so any opportunity to engage in the research process is incredibly marketable post-graduation. 
The more research and creative activities happening in PSFA, the more opportunities there are for students to build those skills,” Record said.

As a professor of advanced research training and research method courses, Record believes her work with students has helped her pinpoint new areas for involvement for both faculty, and students.

“I think knowledge creation is the point of academia, and how we go about validating, assessing and determining what counts as good knowledge is essentially what research is. My role as an instructor translated very well into this position because I can see where opportunities might be for students to be involved,” explained Record. 

A principal investigator herself, Record hopes that as she adapts to the role, faculty and researchers will know to come to her and share their work so she can help track and promote it.

“I am hoping for some help in the next year or so as I settle into this position for people to say, ‘Hey, I'm doing this’. Unless it's in a track system or posted somewhere very specifically, I don't know that these cool things are happening,” Record said.

One day at a time, Record hopes to make RSCA more equitable, accessible, and celebrated not only by the PSFA community, but within SDSU and the entire CSU system.