Report of the Chair

A few announcements are timely:

Many of you notice that Jeff Bleich is not here chairing the board meeting. Last week his nomination by President Obama to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to Australia was confirmed by the United State Senate. Therefore, Jeff has resigned from the CSU Board of Trustees. We will miss Jeff’s quick intellect and keen insights as we continue our work for the state university system.

Former trustee August Coppola passed away on October 27. He served on board from 1981 to 1984.

John Connor, a leader in the SETC-United labor union and an electrician at Fullerton, died on October 18.

John Garamendi, who served on our board while he was Lt. Governor, was elected on November 3 to represent California’s tenth congressional district. We will miss his unique insights at our board meetings.

I am thrilled that Ellen Tauscher donated her congressional papers to the University Library at CSU East Bay. Ms. Tauscher served in the House of Representatives for 13 years, representing the East Bay communities, until she was named U.S. Undersecretary of State for arms control and international security affairs. These papers will advance the scholarly interests of students and faculty interested in local history and public service. A history faculty member and a librarian are already working to inventory and organize Ms. Tauscher’s congressional papers to make them ready for research.

Susan Luévano, a librarian at Cal State Long Beach, was named 2009 Trejo (TRAY-HO) Librarian of the Year by REFORMA – the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking. For over 30 years, Ms. Luévano has been a passionate advocate to helping minority populations develop information literacy skills through local libraries. She also serves as a mentor to first-generation students through Long Beach State’s Partners for Success program. Ms. Luévano is one of the founders of the Orange County Mexican American Historical Foundation. And a final note, Ms. Luévano is an alumna of CSU Stanislaus.

Students at Humboldt and Fullerton celebrated the fall season and Halloween by organizing pumpkin launches. The events were held on October 30 and 31 respectively. At both campuses the idea was to see what team could design and construct the most effective catapult to attain the greatest distance and accuracy by the launched pumpkin. At Fullerton’s event, high school students who are likely future engineers were invited to participate as well.

Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) activities were held the end of October or the beginning of November at Dominguez Hills, Los Angeles, Monterey Bay, Sacramento, and San José. It is a traditional holiday in Mexico and is observed by Latinos in the United States and Canada.

Chancellor Reed, it is time for your report.