Chancellor's Report

to the Board of Trustees

March 16, 2005

Thank you, Chair Galinson. I want to join you in thanking:

• The Stanislaus search team – Debra Farar, Herb Carter, and Carol Chandler. We recruited an outstanding pool of candidates for this position.
  
  
• Trustee Tony Vitti for his many years of service to the CSU.
  
  
• Trustee Shailesh Mehta for his service and we hope he will be reappointed.

Also as Chair Galinson mentioned, Cal State Long Beach President Maxson has announced his decision to step down. Bob has been a champion of “The Beach” and the CSU system and we will all be sad to see him go.

I want to make just a few brief comments on some of the items we have heard at this meeting.

Teacher Education Evaluation

First I want to thank Dave Spence and his team for the fourth annual teacher education report. We are committed to accountability in our programs. It is important for us to be able to see progress every year. This report shows that we are head and shoulders above our peers in terms of our accountability to the public, the quality of the programs we offer, and the results that we have to show for our work.

Debt Management

Also, I want to commend Richard West, Dennis Hordyk, and their teams for their report on our debt management programs. For 2002, 2003, and 2004, on total debt issued of $675 million, the Systemwide Revenue Bond program has saved us:

• an estimated $2.8 million in Costs of Issuance.
• an estimated $1.4 million in Bond Insurance.
• $4 million to $12 million in interest rate savings, calculated in present value dollars.

The Systemwide Revenue Bond program is recognized nationally and on Wall Street as a model program.

Measuring Advancement

Yesterday we heard about a new set of guiding principles for our advancement operations. We are proposing a new advancement classification model that involves a three-tiered system for our campuses, based on the varying levels of program maturity. This appears to be a reasonable system that helps us set goals for the future.

As a public university, our state funding allows us to become a good institution. But the external funding we bring in is what allows us to become a great institution. I believe that this new classification system will help us continue to strive for excellence on our campuses and in our programs.

Remedial Education

Regarding our new report on remedial education, I want to reiterate that we are fully committed to improving those numbers and helping our students. Our university system has been a national leader in terms of outreach to the public schools. We will continue to emphasize our current programs – and develop new programs – to help our incoming students get where they need to be.

Last month I was asked to go to Washington, where the nation’s governors held a national summit on Re-Designing the American High School. They were very interested in our Early Assessment Program for 11^th-grade students. They included the EAP in their guidebook called “Guidebook of Promising State and Local Practices.”

Math & Science Education

Last, I want to call your attention to a new report by the Business-Higher Education Forum called “A Commitment to America’s Future: Responding to the Crisis in Mathematics and Science Education.” The business leaders of this country are extremely concerned about the state of math and science education. The report gives specific steps for business, higher education, and policy leaders to implement program improvements in math and science education. President Baker of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo was one of three co-chairs of this initiative. I urge you to read it carefully.

Chair Galinson, that concludes my remarks.