Report of the Chair

Remarks by Lou Monville
Chair, CSU Board of Trustees
Report to the Board of Trustees
January 28, 2015

In the spirit of the chancellor’s State of the CSU address, I would like to begin by acknowledging our students:

First, congratulations to the leaders of CSSA for taking a bold step in expanding student advocacy and development.

Second, congratulations to the students of Cal Poly Pomona and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo – with many friends and volunteers – for winning the Lathrop K. Leishman award for Most Beautiful Non-Commercial Float in the 126th Tournament of Roses Parade. The float was named Soaring Stories, which I think could be a motto for the Cal Poly campuses and the CSU.

And while I enjoyed seeing the float from the comfort of home, many in the Cal Poly community braved one of the coldest days in the parade’s history.

Third, congratulations to Gavin Baird, a Fresno State student who has received the prestigious Marshall Scholarship. This highly-selective program brings American students to the United Kingdom for graduate study.

Gavin is one of only four Californians selected and will get his master's degree at the London School of Economics – studying political responses to mass migration.

Of course, we look forward to Gavin joining the Class of 3 Million CSU Alumni before he leaves for the UK.

As part of our ongoing celebration of the Class of 3 Million, I wanted to call your attention to the current promotional period that runs this month and next.

Alumni have the opportunity to earn their Advocate Badge by signing up for their campus e-advocacy alerts.

Alumni engagement in advocating for the university is critical in helping us reach our state legislative and budget objectives. I’ve earned the Advocate Badge on my profile and I encourage those of you who are alumni to do so as well.

Three million voices is a powerful thing. We saw some of that power at work during Community Impact Day in Sacramento, a little more than a week ago.

With February coming up, it is also a great time to acknowledge the team that makes CSU Super Sunday a success every year.

On three consecutive Sundays of next month, CSU leaders – including the chancellor, presidents and several trustees – will speak from pulpits across the state to inspire youth to go to college.

Following the church services, CSU outreach staff and volunteers will pass out information on preparing for college, applying to a CSU campus, filing for financial aid, and following community college transfer pathways to a CSU bachelor’s degree.

The CSU Super Sunday partnership has grown to include over 100 predominately African Americans churches. This program has been fully embraced by the university and church communities, and we are celebrating a milestone ten years of partnership.

Speaking of the CSU in the community, seventeen CSU campuses have recently received national recognition for their commitment to service-learning – between two different honors.

  • 11 campuses received the Carnegie Foundation’s 2015 Community Engagement Classification
  • And 15 CSU campuses were named in the 2014 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll

The CSU is a national leader in this area. More than half of the CSU’s 450,000 students are engaged in some type of community service, totaling 32 million hours of service annually.

Thank you again to the students, faculty, staff and alumni that make our success possible. We have much to be proud of as a university community.

That concludes my report.

And as the chancellor delivered his remarks yesterday during the State of the CSU, I invite Kristin Crellin to present the alumni report.