Remarks by Dr. Mildred García - December 7, 2023

Foundation Board of Governors
Introductory Remarks (as prepared)
Chancellor Mildred García
December 7, 2023

Good afternoon and buenas tardes! It is such a pleasure to finally meet you all, and I'm so thankful that my schedule will allow me to stay for dinner this evening so that I can get to know you even better.

I am honored and privileged to be here with all of you – the business, community, cultural and educational leaders who are helping us advance excellence in teaching, learning, community service and applied research across our 23 universities. Your generosity, service and support are astounding – and more appreciated and impactful than you'll ever know.

Just as important, all of you are instrumental in helping the California State University remain so closely in tune with the needs of our great state – which is now the fourth largest economy in the world. This afternoon, I'm pleased to introduce myself and share my priorities, but I'd also like to engage in conversation with all of you – to learn how we can best use your time and talents to advance our shared mission.

Since I began my tenure on October 1^st as the CSU's 11^th chancellor, I have to admit I've grown a little weary of hearing myself tell my personal story. Enough, already! The story I want to tell – every day and at every opportunity – is of this remarkable university and the diverse and talented students we are so privileged to serve. But because getting to know one another is one of the goals of today's meeting – and because I want you to know how closely our values align – I will indulge once more.

I am a first-generation college student, the daughter of humble and proud parents who migrated to Brooklyn from Puerto Rico. I grew up in a poor, but beautifully diverse neighborhood near the factories where my parents worked. But while my neighbors were diverse, their dreams were the same: to create a better life for the next and future generations.

Thanks to my parents' vision and sacrifice – and to the transformative power of higher education, I have lived that dream.

The ideal of social mobility drives my professional story, as well. It's been my highest honor to play a part in elevating the lives of many thousands of students through that transformative power of higher education, whether as president of CSU Dominguez Hills, as president of Cal State Fullerton or, more recently, by working to advance public higher education policy and practice as president of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.

And now, my career has come full circle, providing me with the profound privilege and extraordinary opportunity to lead the nation's largest and most diverse four-year university system, its greatest driver of social mobility, and an engine of prosperity and progress for the state of California.

To say I am thrilled doesn't begin to capture what I am feeling. And I am equally excited and grateful to have the support and partnership of so many like-minded peers, colleagues and friends – all of you! Together, we are educating and supporting America's new majority – first-generation students, low-income students and students of color, as well as adults seeking new opportunity. And we are preparing them to be engaged participants in our future workforce, in our democracy and in our society.

I know I am preaching to the choir – you are all true believers in the unique and awesome power of education to lift individuals, and to prepare the thinkers, creators, teachers, innovators and entrepreneurs – from all walks of life – who will carry our state and our nation to their brightest future.

And because I am among allies, I would like to share with you a few of the interrelated priorities I've identified for the first six months of my tenure – priorities that were shaped by the challenging period of uncertainty, transition, reflection, reform and restoration from which the CSU is now emerging – and through which, I am proud to say, the CSU continued to meet its mission for the diverse and talented students we are so privileged to serve.

I am fortunate to have been preceded in my role by Interim Chancellor Jolene Koester, whom many of you had the pleasure of meeting. During her time with the CSU, she set in motion several systemwide workgroups to provide strategic planning in the areas of enrollment management, student success and equity, financial aid, and building a sustainable financial model to ensure our institution's fiscal health and enduring impact. Thanks to these expert workgroups, I was presented with an invaluable glidepath for addressing the CSU's most pressing concerns. And under my watch and as a top priority, we will now move from glidepath to action, accelerating our implementation of the workgroups' recommendations.

This is closely related to another critical priority, to restore and build stability across our organization. This means addressing structural budget deficits and assertively advocating for the resources we need from Sacramento. It means interrupting declines in student retention and enrollment that were exacerbated by the pandemic. It means finalizing negotiations with our labor unions to provide for our valued employees. And it means working aggressively to fill presidential vacancies with visionary new leaders.

On this point, I want to provide a quick update. The search committee for Stanislaus State is now working actively with the campus community, with the goal of announcing a presidential appointment at our March meeting of the board of trustees. The search for Cal State Fullerton's next president will officially launch in January, with the goal of announcing the university's next leader in May. And the CSU Bakersfield presidential search will begin this spring, with an appointment expected in September. With these three new leaders, nearly half of our 23 presidents will have taken on their roles within the past two years. That is truly remarkable, and we look forward to the energy, expertise, spirit of innovation, diversity of perspective, and unwavering dedication to student success and educational equity that this group collectively brings to the CSU's Executive Leadership Team and their respective universities.

Along with building stability, I speak for our Board of Trustees and campus presidents when I say, as another priority, we are keenly focused on upholding accountability and transparency in serving our students and our state. As a system, we've undergone a very public – and rightful – reckoning of our Title IX practices and the way we care for our extended community. We take seriously our obligation to implement the recommendations that arose from the systemwide assessment and state audit, and we are working with urgency to restore the trust of our stakeholders and to improve our systems of care and compliance. Likewise, we are working carefully in collaboration with Native communities across the state to ensure the respectful return of remains and cultural items, in compliance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, otherwise known as NAGPRA, and its state counterpart, CalNAGPRA. And this fall, our 23 universities are laying the groundwork to fully implement the recommendations of the Chancellor's Strategic Workgroup for Black Student Success to elevate the CSU as a national leader in Black student outreach, recruitment, enrollment, persistence, success and graduation.

While all of these priorities would benefit from your support, one overarching priority requires it. As we close out 2023, this is a momentous time – a pivotal time – for those of us dedicated to educating America's new majority.

On one hand, our work is championed like never before, and at the highest levels. Just look to our nation's highest-ranking education official, U.S. Secretary of Education Dr. Miguel Cardona.

His values – his department's values – are our values. He has publicly called upon America to embrace a new vision of college excellence, equating excellence in higher education with equity, inclusiveness, social mobility and student success. He asks higher education to embrace the “metrics that matter": college completion, economic mobility and narrowing gaps in access to opportunity for all Americans.

Here in California, Governor Newsom has been a longstanding friend and supporter, recently praising the CSU as “the nation's strongest incubator of upward mobility and the nucleus of the California Dream." And he has backed these words with action, honoring his commitment of fiscal support to public higher education despite a shortfall in state revenue.

But at the same time, our society faces a serious threat – the dangerous misconception that a college degree, for many, is simply no longer worth it, and that it's easy to get a job without one.

A report released last month by the Public Policy Institute of California shows a growing trend of young people, ages 16 to 24, choosing the workforce over school. And nationally, a Wall Street Journal/N-O-R-C poll published this spring indicates that 56% of Americans believe that a college degree is not worth the cost.

Alarmingly, this is not a misperception shared solely by the public. Increasingly, we have seen elected officials and leaders across industry sectors espousing a similar viewpoint. You may have heard this falsehood in your own communities.

This mistaken belief is one of the many complex factors contributing to declining enrollment at so many colleges and universities nationwide. It is insidious and pernicious, and particularly destructive to our most vulnerable communities – to the communities we serve.

And it obscures the real story, the true story, our story. The story of the CSU. Student success and equity remain the California State University's top priority and our reason for being. And despite any challenge, we continue to stand tall as the largest and most ethnically and economically diverse four-year university system in the nation, and its most powerful driver of social mobility.

It's past time that we tell our story – loudly, proudly and boldly – so that together we can inspire and uplift future generations of diverse and talented Californians. We tell our story not for our benefit, but for theirs and their families'. To drive our state's social and economic prosperity. And to strengthen our democracy against the divisive forces that threaten it.

We have opportunities before us. Our potential is limitless. And the stakes are high.

To amplify our storytelling – from Washington DC to the state capitol to the communities we serve – I am pleased to report that the national search for the CSU's next Vice Chancellor for External Relations and Communications is now open, and we expect to make an announcement at the January Board of Trustees meeting. My thanks go to Lori Redfearn, who has ably served as administrator in charge, to Steve Relyea, who will serve as interim vice chancellor upon Lori's December retirement, and to Theresa Mendoza, a talented and experienced CSU leader who is serving as a special consultant for Advancement. Once the new vice chancellor is appointed, this reorganized and rejuvenated division will redouble its efforts to promote the CSU to key stakeholders and constituents by leading the CSU's efforts in advocacy, communications, brand positioning, media relations, alumni engagement and advancement, working closely, of course, with all of you.

By uniting our efforts, our resources and, importantly, our voices, I have no doubt that the CSU will continue to rise as a national model for identifying, inspiring, honing and unleashing the genius that lies within each and every one of the students we are so privileged to serve – so that they may change the world.

Please know that your work, your generosity, your extraordinary influence, and your heart for our students and belief in our mission is critical – essential – to our efforts, and it is deeply valued. And I offer you my heartfelt thanks and deepest appreciation for your continued commitment and service.

And now – enough from me. I want to learn more about you, and how we can best work in partnership to meet our shared mission for the benefit of our students and our great state. So, I'd like to ask you a few questions.

1. Many of you either lead large organizations or are senior executives in large organizations – including ones that have weathered significant controversy that threatened to impact trust among stakeholder groups. In retrospect, what would you say were the most helpful – and least helpful –statements, actions or initiatives your organizations' new leaders have undertaken during their initial “honeymoon" periods?
2. From your vantage point in the corporate world, how can the CSU be most helpful in adding value and meeting workforce needs?
   
3. In terms of meeting workforce needs, do you see partnership opportunities through which the CSU and your organizations can join forces on messaging and advocacy as the CSU pushes for additional state investment?
4. As leaders on this board, in what areas do you feel you haven't been as engaged as much as you would like to be?

Thank you for your insights. I could continue this conversation all afternoon, but I know we have a full agenda before us, so I will turn the program back over to Chair Crellin. Thank you again for your gracious welcome and for all that we will accomplish together in the years to come.