Chancellor's Report

to the Board of Trustees

March 17, 2004

Thank you, Chair Farar. Again, many thanks go to President Welty and his staff for all of their hard work in hosting our board meeting.

I toured the Save Mart Center several times when it was under construction, and now that it’s finished, I just want to say how great it looks. I know it has become a premiere venue for a variety of events. In addition to great sports, the Center has also hosted concerts by Metallica, Sarah Brightman as well as the Professional Bull Riders series and Barney the Purple Dinosaur. Talk about diversity!

It has been a busy week here at Fresno State since you’ve just hosted the men’s and women’s WAC basketball tournament. Go Bulldogs!

I also want to congratulate President Welty who was recently elected as president and chair of the Senior Commission of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges – our regional accrediting agency. I also want to acknowledge the efforts of all of the CSU family – students, faculty, staff, alumni, labor organizations and others – who worked so hard to pass Proposition 55. It was a very close one, too close in fact, but we can now continue to move ahead on our many needed capital projects.

With the election behind us, legislators will now turn their attention back to the budget.
Last week, I gave a presentation on the CSU budget to the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee. As you heard yesterday, we have been working with our constituency groups to develop a long-term student fee and financial aid policy. We have developed several key principles in conjunction with the California State Student Association, Academic Senate and the Systemwide Budget Advisory Committee that will provide the framework for such a policy. First, the state has an obligation under the Master Plan to fund student access. It is up to the state to ensure access to all qualified students. Second, revenues from student fees are to be invested in teaching and providing services for students to achieve their academic goals. We also believe the state has the major responsibility to fund the education of all eligible students – and to keeping student fees as low as possible. And finally, any fee increases should be gradual and predictable, with financial aid policies in line with a student’s ability to pay. The CSU will continue to do its part to hold down costs and maximize resources, but in return, the state needs to meet its financial obligation to California’s students.

I would like to thank the presidents and all of the campus representatives who came to the Budget Summit in Long Beach last week. We had a very productive day and there was an excellent exchange of ideas. We are compiling all of the excellent suggestions for how we can better advocate on behalf of the entire CSU family. We will be involving all of you here in our efforts as we work to educate, inform and influence our various audiences so that we can continue to offer high quality, affordable education to the state. This will be the beginning of a long-term sustainable effort to raise awareness of what the CSU provides to the state of California.

This morning you heard a report on the CSU’s systemwide teacher preparation program evaluation. This is the third year that we have evaluated how well the CSU prepares its teachers and we are doing an excellent job. The CSU is very effective in preparing the large numbers of classroom teachers who educate California’s six million youngsters. In the coming year, we plan to look at why some teachers stay in low-performing schools while others leave. One of our goals for this program is to make sure this information gets to the public so that our university system is recognized for its excellence in teacher preparation.

At the last Trustees meeting, General Counsel Chris Helwick reviewed the revised Trustees’ Rules of Procedure for your information. I just want to reiterate how important it is that we are in compliance with the guidelines of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The updated version you have before you today for action will ensure that we are following the law.

On Monday, March 22, CSU representatives will be attending the university’s annual Legislative Day. It is critical that we effectively communicate with our legislators about the contribution the CSU makes to the economic vitality of California. Legislative Day is an opportunity for the CSU family to make its voice heard in the corridors of the capitol that the CSU is working for California. We will also be honoring our legislators of the year – Assemblymembers Joe Simitian and Rudy Bermudez who have been supporters and friends of higher education. Our keynote speaker at lunch will be Humboldt State Alum Loren Bommelyn. Loren is a Tolowa Indian who is a nationally recognized teacher, musician and author. It should make for a great day and I hope to see many of you there.

Chair Farar, that concludes my report.