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Issue #27
June 2012
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Retiring CSU Chancellor Reed Leaves a Strong Legacy of Racial and Ethnic Inclusion in Education Policy

Retiring CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed leaves the California State University with an unparalleled legacy of inclusion and advocacy for underserved students.

Reed led the creation of a multifaceted set of programs known as the CSU Community Partnership Initiatives which engage students and parents from communities that traditionally have been overlooked and underserved by higher education.

His commitment to address the many education challenges faced by underserved populations has been widely acknowledged by CSU leaders.

James M. Rosser, president of Cal State Los Angeles, said:

"Chancellor Reed exceeded the standards that apply to great leadership by extending the CSU's influence and action deeply into our communities, reaching students and families in their schools, churches and at home -- in languages their parents comprehend -- to set them on the path to college readiness. In so doing, he has transformed the dream of college into a reality for so many, who, in turn, transform our communities, this state and the nation in ways that help us all meet the needs of our rapidly changing world."

In his speeches, Reed often talked about the disproportionate number of public school students from the African American, Latino, Native American and Pacific Islander communities who drop out of high school or are inadequately prepared to move from middle school to high school and into college.

"All of us must be accountable for improving the numbers of underserved students who enroll and graduate from college," he said in repeated occasions.

The programs developed under Reed's direction were designed to put all of the students no matter their background on track to fulfilling their personal and professional potential.

"Chancellor Reed's passionate and unwavering commitment to provide access to college for students from underserved populations is unparalleled,” said Leroy Morishita, president of CSU East Bay. "His recognition of the needs of underserved Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders has led to the Journey to Success events, which provide information and road maps in multiple languages for AAPI students and their parents to learn how to prepare and be admitted to college.  The growing diversity of the CSU student population points to the success of these efforts in enrolling these students, many of whom are first-generation college attendees and graduates."

In an effort to boost college access for African American students, Reed created an unprecedented partnership with African American religious leaders, whose help he enlisted to develop effective channels to reach out to middle and high school students and their families.

His strategy was to personally visit churches to talk about college preparation from the 6th grade through the 12th grade and about college financial aid opportunities for low-income families. During Super Sunday events, he and CSU presidents and trustees spoke at hundreds of churches across the state about the value of higher education and the importance of preparing early for college.

He also created CSU-supported Latino parent education programs. Through the Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE), he engaged families in formal classes about best parental practices to earn collaboration from teachers and principals and to encourage children to stay in school and graduate from high school with the appropriate classes to become eligible for college. Approximately 10,000 parents from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds, many of them immigrants, complete the program every year. The program is now in its sixth year.

To involve students from Asian and Pacific Islander heritage, the Journey to Success program was created. It invites parents and students to spend a day on a university campus to experience college life and learn about culturally sensitive programs that can help students enroll and complete college.

Reed also encouraged university presidents to engage local Native American populations by reaching out to several tribal communities across California and providing tribal liaison staffs. Most recently CSU Dominguez Hills hosted a pow wow that attracted 2,500 participants.

"He developed deep and consistent relationships with community and business leaders and kept everyone excited and focused on the university’s community and industry partnership initiatives," said J. Michael Ortíz, president of Cal Poly Pomona.

Reed, who has served as chancellor for 14 years, will remain in the position until a successor is chosen.  

Reed delivers PIQE completion certificate to a parent at Cabrillo School in Long Beach
Chancellor Reed hands out a certificate to a mother who completed the training program of the Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE), in April 2011.

"I am here to congratulate you and to tell you that we await your sons and daughters at one of our 23 campuses as they realize your dreams and your hope for a better future," he told to a group of 79 parents who graduated that day at Cabrillo High in Long Beach.

Reed with Bishop Blake West Angeles Cathedral
Chancellor Reed (left) with Bishop Charles E. Blake (right) and Horace Mitchell, president of CSU Bakersfield, during the annual meeting with religions leaders at West Angeles Cathedral

It was in this church that Reed and Blake in 2005 convened African American civic, business, and education leaders in a town hall meeting, to create the groundwork for the Super Sunday program.

Reed with Laroya Jordan after Super Sunday event
Chancellor Reed and the Rev. La Roya Jordan (center) chat with a parishioner at the conclusion of a Super Sunday event in Inglewood's Faithful Central Bible Church in 2010.

"Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters, there is no gift that you can give to all of our children that is more important than preparing them to be able to go to college," Reed told to a congregation of thousands during the service officiated by Faithful Central's Bishop Kenneth C. Ulmer.

Reed with high school students during the road to college tour
Crenshaw High School students and Chancellor Reed stand in front of the "Road to College" bus that visits schools across California bringing information about how to apply to the CSU.

“We know that the best way to help underserved students understand what it takes to go to college is to reach out into the communities where they live and go to school,” he said during this 2008 event.
 
 

CSU East Bay and San Francisco State University Present Journey to Success College Education Day
CSUEB student dances during opening ceremony

CSUEB student (left) performs
during the Journey to Success
College Day opening session.

Approximately 350 students and parents attended the Journey to Success College Education Day organized by CSU East Bay in collaboration with San Francisco State University.

The May 19 event was part of the CSU Chancellor's Asian American and Pacific Islander Initiative. The program featured 17 workshops and 45 speakers providing information about college financial aid, scholarships for AAPI students, college preparation, college application, and family and parent engagement in a student's education.

Members of several Asian and Pacific Islander subgroups from multiple communities in the Bay Area participated in the planning and promotion of the event.

CSUEB AAPI community luncheon April 2012

A month prior to the college day event, CSUEB President Leroy Morishita held a community luncheon with leaders from San Francisco and the East Bay area to recognize community members and build up momentum for the Journey to Success day. During the luncheon, CSU East Bay professor Meiling Wu (pictured above, standing) briefed AAPI community members about a federal grant from the Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution Program earned by CSU East Bay to mentor AAPI students and help them achieve career success.

See Journey to Success' event photo gallery

 

Upcoming College Events and Fairs
August 25
CSU Super Saturday College Fair
CSU Dominguez Hills

September 28
Native American Day, CSU San Bernardino

October 5-6
27th Annual California Indian Conference, CSU San Marcos

October 13
Es El Momento
CSU Dominguez Hills

October 20
A Taste of Soul, Los Angeles

November 3
CSU AAPI Journey to Success
San Jose State University

 
 

College Board Holds Fifth Annual Native American Student Advocacy Institute

The College Board held its Fifth Annual Native American Student Advocacy Institute on May 22-23 at UCLA.

The conference tracked the progress, challenges and opportunities facing Native American students and offered professional development for educators serving Native American students.

Featured speakers included Henrietta Mann (Cheyenne) president of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribal College, and William Mendoza (Oglala-Sicangu Lakota), director of the White House Initiative on American Indian and Alaska Native Education.

Native American Conference participants

From left Cheryl McKnight, of the American Indian Institute at CSU Dominguez Hills; Ricardo Torres, of Sacramento State University; Jorge Haynes, of the CSU Chancellor's Office; Tishmal Turner, of CSU San Marcos; William Mendoza, director of the White House Initiative on American Indian and Alaska Native Education, Joely Proudfit, of the California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center, and Phil Zastrow, of Humboldt State University.

See the event's program

College Board Publishes Repository of Resources for Undocumented Students

The College Board has published an online document providing information useful for undocumented students interested in attending college.

The publication provides information about college admissions in several states and sample forms required of undocumented applicants, financial aid and scholarships, and contacts for student and educator organizations that provide support to college applicants and enrolled students.

Download the guide here

 

Educators Asked to Provide Information on Asian and Pacific Islander Data Collection

The White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education, is seeking public input on educational institutions' practices for disaggregation of data by subgroups within the AAPI population.

According to the request, data disaggregation will assist the federal government in understanding differences in AAPI subgroups.

The Department of Education has issued a Request for Information (RFI) and is accepting responses through July 3, 2012. All public input is welcomed and a summary of recommendations will be published and made available to the public.

Document issued by the White House
 

Questions, ideas or comments about editorial content, e-mail Clara Potes-Fellow Clara Potes-Fellow
cpotes-fellow@calstate.edu
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