Remarks by Timothy P. White
Chancellor, California State University
CSUDH Fab Lab Dedication
Carson, CA
September 27, 2017
Thank you, Dr. Hamdan…
For all of you who don't know… Kamal was a 2016 recipient of the prestigious Wong Family Excellence Award… given to only four faculty members in the CSU per year.
Frankly, I don't know where Dominguez Hills and the CSU would be without the contributions and commitments to STEM education from Kamal and his colleagues.
Thank you as well to President Hagan and the students, faculty and staff of Cal State Dominguez Hills for hosting us all today…
You know, Willie announced his retirement from the CSU yesterday… and while there will be plenty of time in the next year to celebrate his innovative and transformative leadership of Dominguez Hills, it's especially appropriate today… at an event like this… to applaud President Hagan's wonderful legacy of ensuring student success through equity, quality and opportunity.
Thank you, Willie. And remember, there's a 24-hour grace period for retirement announcements, so there's still time to back out now…
although Betty might have something to say about it.
And thank you to superintendents Downing, Hawkins and Mannon for joining us and for bringing so many students from your respective school districts in LA, Compton and Torrance…
And of course, our deepest thanks to
Al Smith,
Mike Goss,
Michael Medella,
Tracy Underwood and the
recently
retiredMichael Rouse from Toyota Motor North America and the Toyota USA Foundation for their many years of generous leadership and continued dedication to the CSU and its academic mission.
You know, as I was preparing for today's Fab Lab dedication and unveiling, I started thinking about pathways…
Transportation pathways are designed and built by civil engineers and city planners to connect Point A to Point B and so on… connecting people, places and ideas together…
And in academia, we talk often about academic pathways… clear, effective and supportive routes that foster opportunities for all students – regardless of background, circumstance or status – to transition from pre-K to K-12 to community college to the CSU... and then on to their careers and lifelong success.
Certainly, both kinds of pathways – transportation and academic – require people with a unique vision for the future… people who understand our shared history while also embracing our shared future.
We'd usually call these people
trailblazers… but since Toyota is here, let's call them
Tundra Leaders instead.
Bad car jokes aside, let's take stock for a moment of all of the incredible leaders here today… all contributing to their section of the path… and all committed to a shared vision for California's future…
And really, their future.
Indeed, we all share the same vision… a vision that STEM education can change lives… and that
every kid from
every community should have access to that vision.
It's this vision that drives Toyota's efforts to grow STEM education in our communities…
It's this vision that energizes our education partners in LA, Compton, Torrance… and throughout California…
And it's this same vision that built this university six decades ago... powered today by our world-class faculty, staff and administrators like Dr. Hamdan, President Hagan and so many others.
Today's event… Toyota's gift…
these Fab Labs… are indeed visionary... and I'm so excited to see the pathways we build together for future generations of Californians.
Thank you again, and congratulations.
Go Toros!