2026 SBS Scholarship Celebration

This spring, the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences hosted its annual SBS Scholarship Celebration Reception, recognizing scholarship donors and student recipients from across the college.

Dean Lori Poloni-Staudinger welcomed donors, faculty, college leadership, and members of the SBS Advisory Board, including Chair Rowene Aguirre-Medina, Jason Baran, Steve Lynn, and Mike Remedi. She thanked donors for their generosity in supporting student success.

Poloni-Staudinger emphasized the importance of scholarship support, particularly amid ongoing federal uncertainty. She highlighted the impact of the SBS Student Completion Scholarship Fund, which helps students stay enrolled by addressing small bursar balances that might otherwise prevent registration.

“Through the SBS Student Completion Fund, we have already helped 89 students remain enrolled and complete their degrees,” Poloni-Staudinger said. “Each of these scholarships represents a student’s ability to stay, succeed, and graduate.”

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She noted that Innovation Circle funding supports graduate students, undergraduate internships, and hands-on learning that prepares students for future careers.

SBS double alumnus and scholarship donor Jason Baran (’02, ’04) emphasized that everyday ethical choices — especially by well-educated graduates — help protect our freedoms and communities. Through his giving, he is investing in the next generation of SBS scholars to make values-driven decisions.

“I support the students in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, because you are the next generation, in whom we will soon trust our societies, our institutions, our freedoms, and our lives,” Baran said.

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Student speaker Dae-Kyung Kim — a junior majoring in philosophy, physiology, and molecular & cellular biology — is an SBS Ambassador, works for University of Arizona Emergency Medical Services, and directs medical outreach for the U of A Flying Samaritans. He reflected on overcoming hardship and his path to medicine, thanking SBS scholarship donors for believing in him.

“To invest in someone before all the proof is in — before they have earned the credential, finished the degree, or published the paper — is its own form of pressure. The good kind that says: ‘I believe in what you are becoming, even before you can prove it to me.’ That belief is not a small thing,” Kim said. “I am grateful to the donors who made this possible, not only for the financial relief, but for the freedom to keep asking questions, to chase what I love, and to stay in a place where I am still being shaped.”

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Support the College of SBS today! Learn more at sbs.arizona.edu/give

This story was included in the spring 2026 Developments newsletter.