Report of the Chair

I begin by welcoming newly appointed trustee Henry Mendoza appointed by the governor in late August. We are pleased to have you as a member of the board. Henry, would you like to say anything?

Also, I extend a warm welcome to Dr. Mildred García, president of CSU Dominguez Hills, for her first board of trustees meeting.

I want to commend the president, faculty, staff and students of CSU Channel Islands for keeping on task to receive full accreditation from the regional accreditation agency, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). President Rush, in particular, has remained fervent in attaining this important recognition. The accreditation was effective May 19, 2007, and therefore applies to the first freshman class graduating from CSU Channel Islands. This is an extraordinary achievement.

WASC reaffirmed accreditation of San José State and continued the accreditations of the Chico, Sacramento, and San Marcos campuses.

I am pleased to announce that Trustee and Vice Chair Jeff Bleich was elected president of The State Bar of California and will take office at their annual meeting on September 27-30. Congratulations, Jeff.

The two women astronauts on the recent flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour have CSU connections. Dr. Tracy Caldwell, the lead mission specialist on Endeavour, received her BS in Chemistry in 1993 from CSU Fullerton and was a member of the track team. And Barbara Morgan – America’s Teacher in Space and a native of Fresno – attended Fresno State’s laboratory school as a youngster.

The second phase of student housing at Channel Islands, called Santa Cruz Village, opened in late August for 460 freshmen students. These students have access to wireless internet, study rooms, dance studios and music practice rooms.

Cal State Fullerton began its 50th anniversary celebration with series of events and festivities on the weekend of September 14-15-16. I was proud to be a guest of President Gordon on the first day. It included an open house for alumni and the community on Saturday, September 15. Cal State Fullerton has made many contributions to the region.

And speaking of anniversaries, San José State is celebrating its 150th anniversary in the 2007 calendar year. Various events were held earlier in the year and are continuing this fall. San José State is the oldest public institution of higher education in California.

Access to Excellence: in early September we held two regional stakeholders meetings at the Long Beach campus and the San Francisco State Downtown Center to discuss reactions to the latest strategic plan outline. One more forum will be held in Fresno on November 2. In the meantime, anyone wanting to comment should contact a Steering Committee member or react on the website after the latest draft is posted next week.

I extend personal congratulations to President Robert Corrigan on having San Francisco State a part of San Francisco Promise. This program commits admission to San Francisco State to 6th graders in the San Francisco schools to those who complete the required college preparatory courses. San Diego State is commended for its pioneering work in this type of relationship with its area K-12 schools and students and their parents.