Those of us who work in and around California State University campuses know that the CSU has a major impact on the citizens and communities of California. We received tangible proof of that fact last fall when the CSU released a comprehensive study of the impact of the university system. That study showed a dramatic and unparalleled impact on the economic, social, intellectual and cultural life of all of California.

During the past year, we have been working hard to share that information throughout our communities. For instance, we are hosting a series of informational forums with industry leaders in the fields to which the CSU supplies the majority of California’s workers. We held an agricultural industry forum at Fresno State in February, an entertainment industry event at Cal State L.A. in April, and a tourism/hospitality industry forum at Cal Poly Pomona in June. Future industry panels are planned. We also have held and are planning additional briefing sessions with Latino and African-American community leaders, as well as for the Vietnamese and Chinese communities.

But our best advocates for the message about the CSU impact continue to be our alumni and our employees. To that end, I want to encourage you to visit the CSU’s new impact web site, www.calstate.edu/impact. This site provides complete information from the impact report, organized by industry and by campus, as well as specific tools such as talking points and presentations .

I want to thank you once again for helping to make the CSU such an outstanding institution.

– Charles B. Reed, Chancellor