CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY ALUMNI COUNCIL
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS COMMITTEE
WHITTEN CONFERENCE ROOM, CSU FRESNO
FRIDAY, MARCH 12, 2004
3:45 - 4:45 P.M.

M I N U T E S

Members Present
Tom Hoeber, Chair, CSU Hayward; Ash Hayes, San Diego State University; Glenn Schwartz, CSU San Marcos; Larry Augusta, CSU Sacramento; Randi Moore, CSU Los Angeles; Gary Griswold, CSU Chico; Pete Mathiesen, Humboldt State University; Heather Manley, CSU San Marcos; Barry Gordon, CSU Los Angeles; Marty de los Cobos, CSU Channel Islands; Jason Spencer, CSSA and Helene Anderson

Members Absent
Nile Duppstadt, CSU Monterey Bay; Fred Najjar, San José State University; Dia Poole, CSU San Bernardino; Dick Cochran, California Maritime Academy; Monica Pacheco, CSU Hayward; Janet Miller, CSU Bakersfield; John Prosk, CSU Dominguez Hills; Jami Westervelt, CSU Stanislaus

CSU, Chancellor's Office Staff Present
Karen Y. Zamarripa, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Advocacy and Institutional Relations

1. Call to Order
   Tom Hoeber called the meeting to order at 4:05 p.m.

2. Proposition 55
   Hoeber suggested everyone who worked for the passage of Proposition 55, the school bond measure on the March 2 ballot, should be congratulated because the margin of victory was so narrow that everything we did made the difference. The Alumni Council’s work was critical.
   
   Zamarripa concurred in the remarks by Hoeber. She also provided a general overview of the campaign results per the Secretary of State’s office, the total budget for the effort, and the analysis requested by the campaign committee which includes California State University (CSU), the University of California and the community colleges once the final vote count is certified.

3. Legislators of the Year
   Zamarripa reported on the CSU Legislator of the Year awards to be given at the Legislative Day in Sacramento on March 22. Two members of the Assembly will be honored as the 2004 award winners – Joe Simitian, the Assembly Education Subcommittee chair and Rudy Bermudez, from Arcadia. Simitian has served as the subcommittee chair for two years and provided outstanding leadership in the budget process, worked hard to protect CSU from further budget reductions and actions requested by the California Faculty Association and others to redirect dollars, line-item the CSU budget, and attach unnecessary and burdensome reporting requirements on the system.
   
   Assembly Member Bermudez, who is a graduate of CSU Long Beach, in completing his first term in the Legislature and has distinguished himself as a thoughtful leader interested in resolving problems, serving the people and resisting intrusive management of system such as CSU. Bermudez played a key role within the legislature and in his local media is supporting the technology investments at the CSU including the common management system.

4. Legislative Day Update
   Zamarripa reported on the final details for the March 22 CSU Alumni Legislative Day. Twenty-two campuses have confirmed their attendance for the daylong event at the State Capitol with delegations including campus presidents, alumni, students, and faculty and community leaders. Loren Bommelyn, a graduate of Humboldt State University, had been selected as the Alumni Keynote Speaker for the luncheon. Mr. Bommelyn has been a public school teacher who has been active in making sure his culture of Tolowa Native Americans is kept alive for all of us. The campus delegations are being asked to discuss the current state of the CSU and their campus following the last three years of budget cuts and increasing enrollments. Legislators need to understand directly from residents of their community just what the proposed 2004-05 proposed budget means for students but also the economic strength of the surrounding community and state as a whole. A budget white paper and key messages will be developed by the Chancellor’s Office to guide the campus delegation. A second paper addressing the economic return of CSU for the state will also be forwarded for campuses to prepare for their visits with legislators and staff.

5. Budget Update
   Zamarripa reported on the budget as proposed by the Governor in January. The CSU faces a third year of reductions in the proposal – a net of $195 million or just over 7% cut after taking into account the 10%/40%/20% fee increases suggested for undergraduate/graduate/nonresident students. CSU leaders, students, faculty and staff are very concerned about the proposed cuts but the specific approach the system will take with the Administration and legislature is still being developed and discussed. At a minimum, we will be asking policy makers to commit to no more cuts than those proposed in January.
   
   Jason Spencer, speaking on behalf of the California State Students Association (CSSA), emphasized the fact that the CSSA, the Alumni Council, the California Faculty Association (CFA) and the system wide Academic Senate are all working together on budget advocacy this year. Hoeber welcomed this cooperation and described it as a bit of “good cop,” bad cop” with the CSSA and the CFA advocating a rollback of the proposed cuts and the Alumni Council joining with the Board of Trustees and Chancellor Reed in advocating for no additional cuts.

6. VI. Adjournment
   The meeting was adjourned at 4:50 pm.