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Hill Week Highlights CSU’s Call to Protect and Increase Federal Investment in Students

Alisia Ruble
4/17/2025

CSU leaders met with policymakers and higher education stakeholders in Washington, D.C., to highlight the university’s national impact and build partnerships that support student success.

a group of c s u delegates
CSU Chancellor Mildred García and Chair of the CSU Board of Trustees Jack Clarke Jr., along with other trustees and CSU leaders, met with Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff in the Capitol Building on April 10, 2025.
 
​​Alongside California State University leaders and students, Chancellor Mildred García met with policymakers and higher education stakeholders last week in Washington, D.C., to advocate for top federal priorities and demonstrate the university's significant value as part of annual Hill Week activities.

CSU delegates advocated for preserving and enhancing the Pell Grant to enable more students to earn a life-changing degree, supporting the CSU's Minority-Serving Institutions and reaching a bipartisan solution to support Dreamers. They also highlighted the importance of ensuring the uninterrupted flow of federal funds that enhance teaching, learning and student success, and that fuel applied research to solve California's most pressing social, economic and environmental challenges.

With an enrollment of more than 460,000 diverse students, a graduating class of roughly 125,000 students each year and a network of more than 4.3 million alumni, the CSU is arguably America's most impactful four-year public university system. Federal support remains critical to CSU students, nearly 210,000 of whom rely on need-based Pell Grants and more than half of whom are from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds.

“The CSU is the nation's shining beacon of inclusive excellence and its undisputed leader in transforming students' lives and driving social mobility," Chancellor García said. “Now, more than ever before, our nation's leaders need to hear the CSU's powerful story."

Hill Week activities were organized by the CSU's Office of Federal Relations, a team of people that works year-round with legislators; members of the administration; and partners from national higher education associations and think tanks, among others, to advance the university's federal priorities, as well as to showcase the system's impressive return on investment and its national impact.mildred garcia and adam schiff CSU Chancellor Mildred García ​and U.S. Senator Adam Schiff

Throughout the week, Chancellor García met with senior legislators and members of the administration including Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer—a Fresno State alumna—​and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi along with more than a dozen members of the California House delegation, and members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Additionally, Chancellor García facilitated a discussion with Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff in which the pair spoke with CSU representatives and provided insight on the federal landscape with regard to higher education.

Several CSU student leaders participated in Hill Week activities, such as Ariana Lacson, a biomedical engineering major who serves as president and CEO of San José State's Associated Students.

“It's honestly great that we have this platform, this opportunity to actually meet with members of Congress and voice [our constituents'] concerns and amplify our student voice," Lacson said.

Katie Karroum, a communications major and CSUN Associated Students president who was visiting Washington for the third time, says she was inspired by her conversations with Senate and House staff members.

“Most of them were from student government as well, so it's really cool to see them operate in this capacity," Karroum said. “It's very inspiring for me, and I know it'​s just as inspiring for the rest of my constituents."

CSU's Office of Federal Relations also hosted a luncheon for student leaders attending Hill Week to network and learn about career development opportunities in public service, and a “Policy and External Partners Day" to allow CSU representatives to connect with policy insiders, industry leaders and relevant federal stakeholders.

​'Lunch-n-Learn' Showcases CSU's Cutting-Edge Research

Hill Week is just a part of the work the CSU Office of Federal Relations does all year long on behalf of the university. As part of efforts to showcase CSU research and programs with congressional staff—and offer a collaborative space to explore partnerships, spark innovation and connect CSU solutions with legislative priorities—the office launched a series of informational sessions last year.

The office held its first “Lunch-n-Learn" event, focused on agricultural research, in September 2024. David Still, executive director of the CSU Agricultural Research Institute (ARI), shared a presentation about the applied research the CSU conducts to ensure the health and sustainability of California agriculture and its impact on the state and nation.

ARI is one of several CSU Research Clusters that bring together researchers and students from across the university system to address California's greatest challenges and opportunities in areas like agriculture, biotechnology, climate change, and marine and coastal resources. Much of this work relies on federal funding and support.

In March 2025, CSU Federal Relations held another “Lunch-n-Learn" on the CSU's first-of-its-kind public-private initiative to leverage artificial intelligence to transform higher education. Through the initiative, the CSU plans to make AI tools and training available to its more than 460,000 students and 63,000 faculty and staff.

This partnership with leading tech companies including Adobe, Google, AWS, Microsoft, NVIDIA and OpenAI will revolutionize how the university prepares students to propel California's economy and workforce to an AI-driven future.

CSU Federal Relations expects to host its next “Lunch-n-Learn" in the coming months.​​

CSU Federal Priorities Summarized

To achieve CSU system priorities for 2025-26, the university is committed to working with the federal government to:

  • Open doors to all students and provide a pathway to success through direct aid. ​​​​​​​The CSU remains the national leader in affordability while delivering a quality education. Significant state and institutional grants provide vital support to low-income and underrepresented students. Federal financial aid programs remain critical to these students, including nearly 210,000 who rely on need-based Pell Grants. More than 65,000 Pell recipients earn CSU bachelor's degrees each year.

  • Ensure comprehensive and inclusive student success and career readiness programs. ​The CSU is continuously working to improve PK-12 student readiness and measure the performance of CSU-trained teachers. The federal government is a vital partner connecting states, colleges and universities, and industry by investing in students' career pathways and readiness. 

  • Foster degree completion for California's diverse population. The CSU provides more than half of all undergraduate degrees granted to California's Latinx, Black and African American, and Indigenous Native American students and is a leader in transitioning veterans to the civilian workforce. Federal capacity-building programs and targeted grants help bridge completion and equity gaps. 

  • Educate students for tomorrow's workforce. Every year, more than 125,000 new CSU graduates drive California's and America's economy in myriad industries. Strong federal support investment in STEM education; the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities agencies; and co-curricular high-impact practices, internships, fellowships, apprenticeships and other federal workforce development programs is critical to strengthening the nation's workforce.

  • Solve societal problems through applied research. In laboratories, at field sites and through programs within the CSU—including through the CSU Research Clusters—students, faculty and collaborating scientists advance California's capacity to address key issues of significance to the state and nation. By growing and investing in the research capacity at Minority-Serving Institutions and Emerging Research Institutions, the nation can maintain its global scientific leadership and develop dynamic and diverse research talent to solve global problems.

  • ​Enhance campus health, safety and infrastructure. For students to be successful academically and well positioned for post-graduate success, they need to be in an environment that supports their well-being and have access to facilities that are equipped to develop the workforce needed for future state and national competitiveness. The CSU promotes federal funding and policies that support students' well-being and basic needs, including support for the BASIC Act, among other related programs and investments.

​ Learn more about the CSU's federal priorities.​​​​