Report of the Chair

As Chair Carter mentioned yesterday, in his absence I will chair the meeting, but first I'd like to congratulate Herb on being reappointed to the CSU Board of Trustees. I know I speak for all of us when I say how much we appreciate his service, and are very glad that he will continue as a colleague on the board.

I’d like to also welcome a new trustee, Steve Glazer, to the board. Steve is an alum of San Diego State and we are always happy to see our alums on the board. We look forward to working with you Trustee Glazer.

Congratulations also to new presidents Mo Quayomi, who will be taking the helm at San Jose State this summer, and to Leroy Morishita, who has been appointed as interim President of Cal State East Bay. On behalf of the board, congratulations to both of you.

Perhaps BECAUSE we are in the midst of a financial crisis, there is no better time to emphasize what is best about this great system of higher education and utilize our strengths to fuel our future. That’s exactly what our students are doing. A new class of CSU graduates is stepping into a challenging environment – and their roles are no less significant. They are California’s future: scientists, engineers, teachers, and business and healthcare professionals. And they are utilizing the CSU’s many strengths as an opportunity to thrive in uncertainty.

Seeing the need for funding in higher education, communities are also stepping up to the plate and giving to the CSU. These scholarships, grants, and gifts will help our universities continue to serve students so that future CSU graduates can enter California’s workforce equipped with a valued education.

Even in these tough economic times, people continue to give to our universities. For example,

• The School of Business at Humboldt State received a $500,000 gift from a local donor to help meet its regional economy’s need for more business graduates.


• San Jose State will take a leading role in addressing the state’s nursing shortage with the Valley Foundation School of Nursing, newly named in gratitude for a five-million dollar commitment from the Valley Foundation and over three and a half million in past donations.


• At East Bay, a $1.15 million grant from the Bechtel Foundation will support the university’s mission to increase STEM skills in Bay Area students, from pre-school all the way to college.


• At Sonoma State, an unprecedented 12 million dollar cash gift will aid in the completion of the university’s spectacular Green Music Center concert hall.


• The veteran’s center at San Diego State will soon be known as the Joan and Art Barron Veterans Center, thanks to a $1.0 million dollar donation from the couple. Art, a U.S. Navy veteran and SDSU alum, and his wife Joan, were also among the first to give when the center was established three years ago.

Congratulations to all of these campuses, and to our 90,000 plus students who will walk in commencements over the next few weeks.

Members of the board, that concludes my remarks.