Report of the Chair

Hello everyone and welcome to 2010.

We were sad to hear of the passing of state senator Jenny Oropeza who most recently served the 28th district that encompasses much of Los Angeles County, including Long Beach. Jenny previously served in the State Assembly, Long Beach City Council and Long Beach School Board before reaching the Senate in 2006. At the time of her election in 1994, Jenny was the first Latina to achieve a seat on the Long Beach City Council. She was also the first two term student body president of Cal State Long Beach, and was also a student trustee of this board in 1982. We pass along our condolences to Jenny's family and friends.

As the result of the recent elections, we will have a couple of new ex-officio members of the board, as well as the appointment of a new student trustee.

First, I'd like to thank State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell who has been a good friend and partner with the CSU. Jack has worked with us on the Early Assessment Program and has been an advocate for closing the achievement gap and helping students from underserved communities reach their educational goals. Thank you Jack for your dedication and commitment. We will look forward to welcoming Tom Torlakson to the board who was elected as the incoming State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Thank you Governor Maldonado for your service on the board, and we appreciate your support of the CSU and wish you well in your future plans.

Finally, we have a new student trustee appointment to the board who is familiar to all of us. Steve Dixon, who is a graduate student at Sacramento State and past president of CSSA has been appointed as a new student trustee. Congratulations to Steve.

• At Cal State Stanislaus, honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree recipient Placido Domingo surprised everyone with an impromptu performance. During his acceptance speech, Domingo had said he regretted not being able to sing, but it was early in the day. President Shirvani announced the ceremony would not be complete without music, then Stanislaus Professor Stephen Thomas took to the stage and began playing Franz Lehar's "Dein ist mein ganzes Herz" and soon Domingo's voice filled the recital hall. And, I hear Trustee Guzman was in attendance and enjoyed the performance!
• Cal Maritime placed 5th in the student Yachting World Cub held in France recently where they competed against schools with as many as 60,000 students and faced some windy seas. Congratulations to the team.
• Fresno State showed its spirit during the campus' 100th Anniversary Homecoming Week with the Tailgate of the Century in the Peace Garden, a Centennial Parade through campus, capped off by a victory by the Bulldogs at the football game. Quite a day and congratulations.
• The San Diego State bookstore has received a $1.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to increase the store's innovative book rental program and study its impact on learning. The two-year grant is part of $10 million awarded by the DOE to colleges and universities interested in starting or expanding a textbook rental program. SDSU was the only university in California to receive such funding. The grant will be used to increase the store's rental offering, subsidize textbook rental for economically disadvantaged students and collect data to ascertain the performance of students renting textbooks.

Members of the board, that concludes my report