Cal State L.A. President James M. Rosser Awarded Honorary Doctorate from Pepperdine University

Rosser delivered keynote address at Graduate School of Education and Psychology's Commencement Ceremony

California State University, Los Angeles President James M. Rosser has received an honorary doctorate from Pepperdine University at its Graduate School of Education and Psychology commencement ceremony on Saturday, July 9. Rosser also delivered the keynote address.

"We are honored to have Dr. Rosser speak to our current and future educators," said Pepperdine Chancellor Charles Runnels. "With his long and successful tenure in education, there's probably no other person who's such a wonderful example for our students."

Rosser has served since 1979 as president at California State University, Los Angeles, one of the nation's preeminent urban universities. He holds concurrent faculty posts as a professor of Health Care Management and Microbiology.

Rosser's diverse career has included posts as vice chancellor and acting chancellor of the New Jersey Department of Higher Education, and senior associate vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Kansas. Earlier in his career, Rosser held academic and administrative positions at Southern Illinois University and was a researcher at the Eli Lilly and Company Biological Research Laboratories in Indianapolis, Indiana. He has written extensively in the fields of health care and higher education administration.

A dedicated community leader, Rosser has provided service and expertise to many organizations, including the Los Angeles Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America, the Los Angeles County Alliance for College-Ready Public Schools, the California Chamber of Commerce, and Americans for the Arts. In addition, he was a founding member and continues to devote time and effort to the Los Angeles after-school education and childcare program-LA's BEST, the Music Center Performing Arts Council/Education Council, and the California Community Foundation.

His professional board affiliations have included the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the American Council on Education, KCET Television, the Los Angeles Urban League, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, the California Council on Science and Technology, Edison International, United California Bank, and the FEDCO, Inc. Foundation, as well as numerous committees and commissions of the California State University system. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association and as chair of its community advisory committee.

Rosser is past chair of the Education and Human Resources Advisory Committee for the National Science Foundation and was chairman from 2000-2002 of the National Academies of Engineering Forum on Diversity in the Engineering Workforce.

He is a recipient of many honors and awards, including Southern Illinois University's Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters and its Alumni Achievement and Distinguished Alumnus Awards, as well as the Brotherhood Crusade's Pioneer of Black Historical Achievement Award.

Rosser earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in microbiology and a Ph.D. in health education, all from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.