Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced earlier last month the appointment of a group of statewide leaders to head a newly established Broadband Task Force.

The Broadband Task Force will bring together public and private stakeholders to remove barriers to broadband access, identify opportunities for increased broadband adoption and enable the creation and deployment of new advanced communication technologies.

The CSU is fortunate to have President Rollin Richmond from Humboldt State as part of this appointed group. In October, the Governor signed an Executive Order to clear the government red tape for expanding broadband networks and to create the Broadband Task Force, which now currently includes a total of 21 members.

President Richmond’s background lends him to be a perfect candidate for this Task Force and has served in his capacity at Humboldt since 2002 as both president and professor of biological sciences. Prior to entering the CSU system he was a provost and professor of zoology and genetics at Iowa State and executive vice president of academic affairs and professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the State University of New York.

"California is No. 1 in so many different things, whether it is biotechnology, stem cell research, protecting our environment, creating jobs or our university system. The Golden State must remain competitive in the telecommunication revolution so that we can continue to attract the best, the brightest and the most creative workforce in the world," said Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. "Broadband will help build California so we can grow our economy, create great jobs and stay ahead in the global marketplace."