Welcome to the President's Office

President’s Address – 2024 CSUSB Convocation
Thursday, August 22, 2024

Good morning! 

Before I proceed with my formal remarks, let me share with you how special I feel starting my 49th year in higher education right here at Cal State San Bernardino.

I could not be more proud of each and every one of you and the impact you have had and continue to have in transforming the lives of our students, their families and their communities throughout the Inland Empire. Every academic department, student club, musical or theatrical performance, and athletic team contributes in some way to the well-being of the region we serve. This is the very definition of an anchor institution. We are all together here in a very, very special place. We have a vital mission here. And we punch well above our weight. Each one of you is making a real difference.

I am delighted to see so many here today as we begin the 2024-25 academic year at Cal State San Bernardino. I would especially like to welcome the many new faces joining our campus, in particular the additions to our faculty, staff and administration. Each of you brings an impressive array of knowledge and experience to our vibrant community. I am glad you are here at CSUSB. I would like to add that I am very proud to welcome 20 new faculty! And welcome to our visiting faculty member—we’re glad you are here! Also, between July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024, we had 283 new employee hires and promotions. We are delighted to have you all as members of CSUSB! We also welcome our undergraduate and graduate students. They range from newcomers getting their initial taste of Coyote life to those entering their final months as they work toward their CSUSB graduation.

I would like to begin today by sharing some highlights from our 2023-24 achievements, through the lens of our university’s strategic plan.

For Goal 1 – Student Success:

• Last academic year, the first year of our 5-year strategic plan, 10 of the 22 student success strategies were initiated.
• Academic Success and Undergraduate Advising secured 1.5-million-dollars in external funding to bolster the strategic plan funds that had already been dedicated to carry out student success initiatives.
• ASUA was able to re-enroll 1,553 students who had stopped out and re-engage them at CSUSB.
• They also greatly expanded the embedded support services offered to our students. A total of 58 classes and 2,900 students were supported by embedded tutors and mentors in 23-24, which represents an increase in over 1,000 students compared to the prior year.  
• The Student Recruitment, Retention, and Graduation subcommittee of the President’s DEI Board conducted a qualitative study with 15 focus groups to understand the experiences of underserved student communities. It recommended tools such as Equity Web Scan and Equity Walk to enhance inclusivity. These tools, along with the newly developed inclusive language guide, were used to scan course titles and descriptions as well as CSUSB webpages to ensure our university’s language is inclusive and relevant to our student population.
• Enrollment Management implemented rolling admissions, extended the commit date for our incoming students, and improved processes with ITS, while addressing issues related to financial aid and the new FAFSA application.
• Meanwhile, all our academic colleges engaged in outreach efforts to bolster enrollment, retention and student success.

For Goal 2 – Faculty and Staff Success:

• We initiated 6 of the 17 strategies outlined in the plan for faculty and staff success.
• CSUSB addressed delays in Sponsored Programs Administration by forming a committee that recommended dedicated HR and financial services to support our principal investigators.
• We also hired a new college-based grant coordinator, who will continue to work with PIs to refine processes and provide support.
• Despite limited funding impacting active research pathways, the Provost’s Office continued supporting faculty research through the Research Assigned Time Award and the CiRIS Program.
• Various colleges and departments implemented initiatives to enhance faculty and staff engagement, recognition and wellness, including workshops and awards, with a goal of fostering a positive organizational culture and supporting professional development.

For Goal 3 – Diversity, Equity and Inclusion:

• CSUSB’s Staff Development Center enhanced DEI knowledge through training and workshops, collaborating with campus departments to hold “Inclusion Days” and organizing events including the “Welcome Black Barbecue” to foster inclusivity.
• The Division of Student Affairs hosted over 25 DEI events, integrating DEI principles into curricular and co-curricular experiences.
• Additional efforts included the creation of all-gender restrooms, a lactation room, and ongoing analysis to improve student support and retention, collectively contributing to a more inclusive campus environment.

For Goal 4 – Internationalization:

• CSUSB engaged in a range of international and domestic initiatives to promote global engagement, diversity and support for underrepresented student populations.
• Efforts included workshops on sustainable development in Turkey, research presentations on artificial intelligence and education and partnerships with institutions including Northeast Normal University in China.
• The university also centralized study abroad programs, enhanced scholarship opportunities and supported international students through targeted initiatives, workshops and collaborations with Enrollment Management and student services, resulting in increased engagement and accessibility for international education.

As we think about 2024-25, whose launch we are recognizing today, I now want to take a deep dive into the areas of DEI, civic engagement, enrollment management and student success. They are all deeply woven together and their success, our success, our students’ success, needs to take all these areas into consideration.

First, know that, regardless of voices telling us that our nation’s diversity is divisive or a distraction, we are continuing to double down on our DEI focus and efforts here at Cal State San Bernardino. Because, as reporting from the movement advancement project states, “at least 42 states have introduced over 440 bills attacking DEI in a variety of ways, and over half (23) of those states have enacted at least one such law or policy over that time frame.”

We are incredibly fortunate to live in a state which is also doubling down on the understanding that our diversity is our strength. In addition, I am thankful we live in a state which values the histories of all Americans and is not afraid to share them, regardless of their darker and painful aspects. Therefore, in this past year we have created the Office of Tribal Relations and the Office of Black Student Success. Because we want to ensure that these members of our student body feel at home and included on our campus.  Both offices will be growing their services and offerings in the coming year.

We have also just received some terrific news: Excelencia in Education, which is “committed to Ensuring America’s Future by increasing Latino college completion,” has announced that CSUSB’s Upward Bound program is one of 18 finalists in their “2024 Examples of Excelencia.” In addition, our “Dream Internship” has made their “Programs to Watch” list!

Another key long-term trait and focus of CSUSB is its focus on community and civic engagement. A university has never been, and can never be, treated as some type of ivory tower, divorced from the community in which it sits. At CSUSB, we recognize that we are an anchor institution. I say this a lot, to the point where the phrase may begin to sound like it is just words. But it is not just words. It is actions. What this means, as a higher education community here in the Inland Empire, in our collective lives as CSUSB and in our personal lives, we support our communities through engagement and involvement. We volunteer. We learn about local issues affecting our city councils and our school boards. And we exercise the franchise, that is, the right we possess as American citizens to vote. Because not only does each vote count (we can see this in local races which can literally be decided by votes that can be counted on the fingers of both hands), but our votes ARE our voices in a democracy. We cannot take anything for granted. We are the ones who build our futures through this valuable tool.

We see this on campus as well, with our student elected government, our faculty elected body, and our staff elected body.

The next key issue I wish to touch on is enrollment. To be frank, we’re not a university without a student body. While we’re not alone in struggling to regain enrollment as a result of the pandemic’s impacts, that doesn’t mean we ignore the current moment. For example, we know we will likely see increased competition for our students from other universities throughout our state. In addition, Institutional Research has recently identified a worrying trend: we are losing more students than we are admitting.

For example, in 2023-24, we admitted 4,832 students while 6,123 students either graduated or unfortunately left without earning a degree. This means, on average, we admitted 0.8 students for every student who stopped-out or graduated. Everybody has a role—a leadership role—to play in ensuring that students leave here with a degree. That includes encouraging students to attend and then supporting students throughout their academic path so that they persist. 

So, this is an all hands on deck moment for the entire campus. And I would argue that our alumni also have a role to play as well. Therefore, I would like to briefly recognize our incoming inaugural vice president of the new division of Strategic Enrollment Management and Marketing, Dr. David Dufault-Hunter. He will be joining us at CSUSB on September 3rd from Cal State Northridge. David, we look forward to welcoming you soon!

With an increased focus on communications and getting the word out to potential students in our region—about who we are, what we can offer, and how we can help them to realize their academic goals—we can begin to tackle more aggressively both recruitment issues and the loss versus admittance issues we have been facing. We must grow enrollment by admitting more students and retaining more students.

All of this comes together with our goal to support and promote student success here at CSUSB. We need to look at student success through the lens of an engaged campus. If we want engaged students—we know that engagement promotes persistence and eventual graduation—then we need an engaged campus. And an engaged campus means engaged faculty, staff and administrators. And that is what we are doing at CSUSB. Being physically present, with our students, is key to serving them, and face-to-face interaction is also important for staff interaction. So, effective fall 2024, CSUSB will be moving to a one-day-per-week telecommuting opportunity, maximum, for those whose roles allow remote work.

Let 2024-25 be the year of re-engagement with our students so that we can build student success! This must be the focus of all who work on this campus, regardless of what position you hold or what area of responsibility you cover. Let’s build one-on-one relationships with our students. Let’s celebrate the way our faculty engage with our students outside the classroom through research projects or through mentoring, student clubs or organizations. Let’s ask ourselves, what are other ways that our college offices and our administrative offices and their employees can engage with our students, including with their clubs and organizations? We cannot remain at a 1,000-foot level. Students are people, not widgets or statistics.  Even if your responsibilities do not involve a face-to-face daily interactive role, you are still here to build student success.

Again, realizing the potential of our students and realizing the potential of CSUSB are both so tightly woven together that you cannot truly separate one from the other. Therefore, in 2024-25, let us reconnect with this understanding:  Let this be the Year of Engagement!

I want to conclude today by reminding us all of what it means to be a citizen of Cal State San Bernardino. Regardless of our efforts on campus to be more intentional in diversity, equity and inclusion, the world outside our doors continues to move in ways which do not necessarily accord with our university’s inclusive values.

Nevertheless, as members of the CSUSB community, we state that:

• The singling out of any community or group for scapegoating is completely unacceptable. These are all acts of ignorance grounded in fear.
• This university rejects such behavior and remains committed to denouncing such actions, now and always, regardless of the source. We declare zero tolerance of any such acts or incidents no matter where or when they occur.
• We reject any consideration, including judicial, of women as second-class citizens in our nation. This goes against our basic values and has no place in a democratic republic in the 21st century.
• And we confirm that there is no road to a better future that does not follow the path of social justice, and it will suffer neither color barriers nor cultural, spiritual, gender or sexual restrictions.  We truly are all in this together.

As we begin 2024-25, we do not forget that, together, we must continue to strive to be an inclusive community of diverse students and scholars, committed to the positive impact higher education affords our region. Each of us can make a difference. It is fundamental to all we do and desire to achieve here at CSUSB.

And now, I am happy to continue a CSUSB tradition and leave you with a video highlighting some of the successes and inspirational achievements of the last year.

And don’t forget! Homecoming is right around the corner: Saturday – October 26th!

Thank you!