Governor Jerry Brown’s 2011-12 state budget proposal released Monday reduces state support to the California State University by $500 million, or 18 percent. The proposed funding of $2.2 billion is equivalent to 1999 levels even though the CSU currently serves nearly 70,000 more students.
Brown’s grim proposal is a “best-case” scenario, as it assumes temporary tax increases set to expire at the end of the fiscal year will be extended.
A cut of this magnitude would have substantial impact, including the possible reinstatement of enrollment restrictions; the CSU recently boosted enrollment levels to partially restore student access after two years of cuts.
"As we have before, we will need to look at every option in order to develop a comprehensive plan to address a reduction of this magnitude," said CSU Chancellor Charles Reed. "There will inevitably be difficult choices as we move forward, and no single solution will be enough to meet this challenge."
As the CSU, University of California and California Community College systems move forward with addressing a combined budget cut of $1.4 billion, their leaders together emphasized that an educated workforce is critical to California’s economy—and the proposed cuts to higher education would be a blow to the state’s economic recovery. Press Release.
New Leadership for Cal Poly, CSU Board of Trustees
Jeffrey Armstrong was appointed by the CSU Board of Trustees Dec. 15 to serve as president of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Armstrong, Dean of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and professor of Animal Science at Michigan State University, will begin his new role at Cal Poly on Feb. 1.
Hsing Kung was appointed to the CSU Board of Trustees Dec. 30 by outgoing Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Kung, a businessman with a science and engineering background, will fill a vacancy left by C.C. Yin, who resigned from the board in December.
Newly elected officials, including Governor Brown, Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom and Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson now serve as ex officio members on the CSU Board of Trustees.
CSU Adds Three Campuses To Community Engagement List
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has classified three CSU campuses—Channel Islands, Dominguez Hills and Sacramento State—as “community engagement” campuses.
The three campuses are among the only six higher education institutions in California to be successfully classified in 2010, and will join 10 other CSU campuses classified as community engagement campuses since the foundation introduced the category in 2004.
Carnegie’s classifications traditionally define institutions of higher education on a quantitative level. However, the foundation’s community engagement classification is unique as it requires a more subjective approach: reviewing a variety of factors such as institutional culture and university-wide service programs. Initiatives such as CSUCI’s role in the Bracero Oral History Project, Sacramento State’s Writing Partners and CSUDH’s RAM clinics are just a few examples of what was reviewed to merit the classification.
Carnegie classifications are the primary and most objective way for researchers and lawmakers to get the “big picture” on complex organizations, aiding in allocation of funds and grants. More information on the classification is available at the Carnegie Foundation's website and in this CSU press release.
