Chancellor's Report

to the Board of Trustees

September 21, 2005

Thank you, Chair Galinson.

Katrina Update

I'd like to begin with a brief update on our activities related to Hurricane Katrina relief.

The California State University is admitting students from Gulf Coast area colleges, as well as California students who had planned to attend a college in that region. As of last week, we admitted 388 students and enrolled 181 - a number that will grow higher.

We waived out-of-state fees for these students. We are also working to assist them with federal and state financial aid. Thanks to the work of our Washington office, we may receive $1,000 in federal assistance per relocated student.

Plus we have been assisting evacuees:

• San Diego State has opened a Red Cross shelter for 600 families.
• San Jose State is currently hosting 30 evacuees and is prepared for 200.
• Cal Maritime's Golden Bear training ship is ready for deployment if it is needed.

The CSU has truly been ahead of many other universities in the country on this effort.

In fact, I was invited to appear on "Larry King Live" with Maria Shriver to discuss how the CSU is responding to this tragedy.

I want to thank all of the presidents, Allison Jones, and other administrators for their quick work.

We have heard incredible stories from the students who are arriving at our campuses.

When I was at San Jose State, one student arrived with only a backpack on his back. He went to San Jose because his former high school basketball coach works there. He now has a basketball scholarship there.

One mother told the Cal State Long Beach admissions director, "We called 20 colleges in Southern California, and Cal State is the only university that called back within five minutes and the only one with a plan for students."

Another family offered two rooms for up to four students and said they would not charge for rent, food - and they would buy them clothes.

We've had offers from Hollywood and L.A. clothing designers and we've helped pair them up with students who need clothes.

Our campuses have also been generous with the most direct kind of help we can offer to national organizations like the American Red Cross or the Salvation Army.

I want to thank all of our faculty, staff, and students who have contributed.

These are the things that make me incredibly proud to be a part of the CSU community. When there was an urgent need, we acted quickly.

If you would like to read a full roundup of hurricane-related efforts across the campuses, please visit http://www.calstate.edu/katrina.

SB 724/ SB 569

SB 724, the Ed.D. bill, and SB 569, the affinity card bill, have both won legislative approval and are waiting for the governor's signature. Thanks to Karen and her team - and all of you and our alumni and other advocates - for helping to move these measures forward. Everyone participated in this effort.

The educational doctorate is going to be perhaps the biggest change for the CSU in 45 years.

Communications Plan Update

Our communications and advocacy team, along with our campus presidents and other staff and administrators, continue our efforts to raise awareness about the CSU's impact.

Last month we held a successful Latino work session in L.A.

Upcoming events include meetings with:

• The Vietnamese community in Garden Grove
• The African-American community in Oakland
• The Chinese community in San Francisco
• The engineering industry in San Jose

Our new agricultural advisory committee, which is doing follow-up from our original event, will meet at the end of the month.

We also have a web site to help people understand more about the impact of the CSU: http://www.calstate.edu/impact

We will continue to get more information to all of you on this project throughout the year.

Hearst Scholars

Yesterday at the Institutional Advancement Committee meeting we honored 12 students with the Hearst/Trustees scholarship. These students have overcome incredible odds to succeed in college.

Thanks to Ali Razi and our current and former trustees for making this scholarship possible.

Sacramento State Logo

Last, Sacramento State President Alex Gonzalez has a short presentation on their new logo and graphics package, which has been in development over the last year.

To create the new look, a campus committee brought in a design firm that interviewed about 500 faculty, staff, alumni, and community members.

This new look gives them a consistent look and feel with their public communications, which will help the university raise its visibility and reputation - and will share the message that Sac State is "Working for California."

Alex, would you share your presentation?

(Alex Gonzalez remarks and video).

Thank you, Alex.

Chair Galinson, that concludes my remarks.