CSU Bakersfield President's Monthly Campus Update Horace Mitchell, Ph.D.


Governor's May Revision Continues to propose $305 million Restoration to CSU Budget
Governor Schwarzenegger continues to prioritize higher education in the proposed 2010-11 state budget. The May Revision proposes to restore the $305 million "one time" reduction to the CSU's current-year budget, which would preserve access to approximately 21,000 students system-wide. It also would restore $60.6 million to support enrollment growth and fund new competitive CalGrant awards, allowing the CSU to serve some 9,600 additional students system-wide. While the Governor's priorities recognize that higher education is an economic driver of the state's economy, restoration of funds comes at the cost of eliminating services to the neediest Californians. There is an unwillingness among many in the Legislature to implement the kinds of cuts the Governor has proposed in other areas in order to restore funding to higher education. We anticipate a long battle in the Legislature before the budget is settled. The Governor's May Revision is available at the state's Department of Finance website at http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/.

Legislative Visits
Coming on the heels of the Governor's May Revision, I will be in Sacramento on Monday, May 24th to meet with our state legislators to advocate for the support of the CSU budget. Joining me will be Mike Neal, Vice President for Business and Administrative Services, Beverly Byl, Vice President for University Advancement, Geoff King, Chair of the CSUB Foundation, and Greg Bynum, CSUB Foundation board member. Our visit will focus on increasing access to the CSU. We are scheduled to meet with Assemblypersons Jean Fuller, Stephen Knight, Danny Gilmore, and Senators Dean Florez, Roy Ashburn, and George Runner. If the proposed CSU budget is approved rather than denied, CSUB could provide access to approximately 400 more students in 2010-11.

CSU Economic Impact Study
The impact of the California State University on the state's economy has been revised in an updated study released just last week. The study reveals that the CSU has a $17 billion impact on California's economy. For every $1 invested in the CSU, the state receives a $5.43 return in CSU-related expenditures alone. The report further shows that "[w]hen the impact of the enhanced earnings of CSU graduates is included the ratio rises to $23 in total spending impact for every dollar the state invests in the CSU." The system graduates 92,000 students per year, providing the state with a work-ready workforce which pays the state more in taxes each year than the state invests in the CSU. The economic impact report is available on the CSU's website at http://www.calstate.edu/impact/.

Spring Commencement
This year's graduating class has the distinction of being the 40th graduating class at CSUB. At this 40thth commencement exercise, we are proud to award 1,543 degrees, including 1,187 bachelor's degrees and 356 master's degrees. To accommodate our graduates and their families, we have scheduled three ceremonies. The Graduate and Hooding Ceremony will take place Tuesday, June 8th at 6:00 p.m. in the Icardo Center. The Schools of Business & Public Administration, Education, and Natural Sciences and Mathematics will hold their joint ceremony on Friday, June 11th at 7:00 a.m. in the Amphitheatre. Commencement for the School of Humanities & Social Sciences will take place on Saturday, June 12th at 7:00 a.m. in the Amphitheatre.

Addressing our graduates as commencement speakers will be Mr. Gaurdie Banister, President and CEO of Aera Energy, LLC on Friday, June 11th and Dr. Gerald Haslam, Emeritus Professor of English at CSU Sonoma on Saturday, June 12th. CSU Vice Chancellor for Human Resources Gail Brooks will join us for the June 11th ceremony.

Tickets
Our University is at capacity for commencement venues. To ensure that we do not jeopardize public safety by exceeding capacity, and to afford adequate seating at each ceremony, we must limit the number of guests. We thus are requiring again this year that all guests have a ticket to commencement. Each graduating student is entitled to six tickets. Guests must have a ticket to be admitted. Tickets are not required for graduating students. For specifics regarding ticket distribution, dates, and times, please visit our commencement website at: http://www.csub.edu/commencement/.

CSU-Antelope Valley
We will host our annual Celebration of Graduating Students Reception for CSUB-Antelope Valley on Sunday, June 6th at 3:00 p.m. at the Hellenic Center in Lancaster. The reception is open to all Antelope Valley graduating students and a guest. For more information, please contact Leanna Vendro, Administrative Assistant, at (661) 952-5027 or via email at lvendro@csub.edu.

CSUB Among Top 100 Colleges and Universities Serving Hispanic Students
For another year, CSUB ranks among Hispanic Outlook's "Top 100 Colleges and Universities Awarding Degrees to Hispanic Students" for 2009. We are among 17 CSU campuses to make the top 100, ranking at #58 in awarding bachelor's degrees and #82 in awarding master's degrees. The full Top 100 listing is accessible at the Hispanic Outlook website, http://www.hispanicoutlook.com/top100.htm. CSUB is proud to be recognized as an Hispanic-Serving Institution, meaning that at least 25% of our student population is of Hispanic heritage.

Administrative Appointments
I am pleased to announce the following administrative appointments:

Chief of Police
Vice President Mike Neal and I are pleased to announce the appointment of Martin (Marty) Williamson to the position of Chief of Police for the University. Marty possesses over 30 years of professional law enforcement experience with the Kern County Sheriff's Department and has been promoted to numerous major leadership positions within the department. Most recently, he served as Undersheriff, the highest promotable position within the Kern County Sheriff's Department, under two different sheriffs. Marty is also an alumnus of CSU Bakersfield, graduating with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice, and a master's in public administration. Marty joined CSU Bakersfield as Chief of Police on May 17. Please join us in welcoming him back to his alma mater and the CSUB community.

Interim Director of Safety and Risk Management
Appointed to the position of Interim Director of Safety & Risk Management is Ms. Juli Smith. Juli joined us on April 26th and comes to CSUB with a breadth of Safety and Risk experience. Most recently, she held the positions of Industrial Hygienist, Environmental Protection Specialist and Safety & Health Representative. Juli holds a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from the University of Southern Mississippi. Please be sure to stop by and introduce yourself to one of the newest members of our campus.

Summer Hours
Just after June commencement, both CSUB main campus and CSUB-Antelope Valley will adopt a summer Monday-Thursday, 10-hour workday operating schedule. The summer schedule will be in effect June 14th - August 27th with one exception. During the week of June 28th-July 2nd, all staff will work five 8-hour days. We expect to realize a $47,220 energy savings from our summer schedule. Specifics regarding our summer operating schedule are available by contacting the Human Resources Department at x2266.

University Council
The last University Council meeting of the academic year took place on May 14, 2010 from 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. in the Albertson Room. Meetings will resume in the fall.

I look forward to seeing you around campus or at an upcoming University or community event. Take care.