California State University, San Bernardino
Lifelong public servant Respondia “Dia” S. Poole is a two-time graduate of California State University, San Bernardino. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and information management in 1990 and a master’s degree in communications studies in 2023. For the latter, she was named a 2022-23 College of Arts and Letters Outstanding Student. Her career has been dedicated to serving the people of California, both at the state level and within the County of San Bernardino.
Ms. Poole credits her Cal State San Bernardino degree, earned as a nontraditional student, to helping to open opportunities for meaningful state-level public service. Her acceptance into the prestigious Capital Fellows program in Sacramento launched her career in California government, where she became a highly regarded senior policy consultant to two of the state Assembly’s presiding leaders. She received a gubernatorial appointment to the position of deputy director of public affairs for the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, the largest state civil rights agency in the nation. Her state service culminated in her role as a senior legislative advocate for the Judicial Council’s Governmental Affairs. Her efforts there were particularly significant for the Inland Empire, where the superior courts of San Bernardino and Riverside counties are the most under-resourced in the state.
With an extraordinary record of volunteer leadership at Cal State San Bernardino, Ms. Poole was recognized as 2008’s Alumni Advocate of the Year. As a member of the Philanthropic Foundation Board’s Advocacy Committee, she joins the campus delegation annually in Sacramento and often in Washington, D.C., and she has demonstrated her personal philanthropic support through her estate gift to the university.
Ms. Poole is known throughout the CSU system as a well-respected alumna whose more than 20 years of unwavering volunteer leadership has helped to strengthen the value of a CSU degree, increase state and federal investments in students and academic programs, and improve graduation rates. She is a member of the statewide CSU Alumni Council, which she has twice led as president.
In recognition of her many professional accomplishments and her extensive contributions to the university and the community, the Board of Trustees of the California State University and California State University, San Bernardino are proud to confer upon Respondia “Dia” S. Poole the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.