The California State University (CSU) has announced the allocation of $4,630,846 in one-time funding to its 23 universities to advance Black student success and elevate Black excellence across the system. The awards are part of the CSU’s committed $10 million Black Student Success allocation over the next three years and will help fund programs and projects that each university identified to meet recommendations outlined in the Black Student Success report released in June 2023. The candid report re-evaluates and reimagines how the nation’s largest four-year public university system is supporting Black students and addressing persistent trends in low Black student enrollment, retention and graduation rates.
“Leaders—at the system level and across the CSU’s 23 universities—are thinking broadly and acting boldly to advance institutional change and further the momentum of the Black Student Success report,” said CSU Chancellor Mildred García. “With a primary focus on ensuring that Black students attain their academic goals and are positioned for a lifetime of success, we also intend this funding to strengthen enrollment and retention efforts, improve classroom experiences, and bolster staff and faculty development across the system.”
The CSU Chancellor’s Office and the 23 universities collaborated on a first-of-its-kind systemwide inventory to establish a shared understanding of the state of Black student success in the CSU. Each university assessed its existing efforts compared to the report’s 13 recommendations that had a direct campus connection. The Systemwide
Campus Inventory and Campus Action Items Highlights, available on the CSU’s
Black Student Success website, includes a listing of awarded projects to be
implemented by May 2025.
“We commend the universities for participating in a frank self-assessment of campus offerings which highlighted areas of strengths as well as opportunities for growth, cross-campus collaboration and innovation in supporting Black students,” said Dilcie Perez, deputy vice chancellor of Academic and Student Affairs and Chief Student Affairs Officer. “We are committed to increasing the opportunities for Black students to attain the life-changing benefits of a CSU degree, and that can only begin when we are accountable to each other and to our students.”
The CSU inventory includes current campus practices, services and resources that align with the Black Student Success report’s recommendations and that represent opportunities to scale across the system. Campus immersion programs, guaranteed admissions and community partnerships are some of the many ways universities are addressing enrollment. Efforts to support student and faculty success include themed living and learning communities, promoting cluster hiring and advancing faculty and staff retention, tenure and promotion efforts. In turn, the universities have committed to additional action items by the graduation of the Class of 2025 that range from developing enrollment and recruitment strategies and expanding early outreach efforts to launching residential scholars programs, study abroad opportunities and Black resource centers.
In addition, the CSU will hold its second biennial Juneteenth Symposium virtually on June 13 and 14 to celebrate African American history and achievement and promote the ongoing anti-racism work underway across the university system. The event will feature world-class speakers, evocative performances and thought-provoking panel discussions meant to inspire connection, innovation and continued pursuit of a just and equitable world. Registration for the livestream event will be available on the CSU's Juneteenth website.
About the California State University
The California State University is the nation's largest four-year public university system, providing transformational opportunities for upward mobility to more than 450,000 students from all socioeconomic backgrounds. More than half of CSU students are people of color, and nearly one-third of them are first-generation college students. Because the CSU's 23 universities provide a high-quality education at an incredible value, they are rated among the best in the nation for promoting social mobility in national college rankings from U.S. News & World Report, the Wall Street Journal and Washington Monthly. The CSU powers California and the nation, sending nearly 127,000 career-ready graduates into the workforce each year. In fact, one in every 20 Americans holding a college degree earned it at the CSU. Connect with and learn more about the CSU in the CSU newsroom.