In partnership with community champions and committed donors, CSU campuses are building strong and inclusive communities across California. It is vital to the system’s public mission to advance social mobility, resolve health disparities and tackle real-world problems.
Thanks to donor support, the CSU is a national leader in broadening practice-based training for K-12 teachers to improve learning outcomes and is developing culturally competent health practitioners to promote wellness in underserved communities.
A Gift From Professor Emerita to Provide Local Educators With Financial Literacy Skills
With a $90,000 pledge from Joan Sieber, Professor Emerita of psychology at California State University, East Bay, the Financial Literacy Center at the College of Business and Economics will offer 300 new local public school teachers a course in the financial skills, including budgeting, investing, managing credit and retirement planning, necessary to live comfortably on a teacher’s salary. The program will also equip teachers to include age-appropriate financial literacy skills in their own classrooms.
Sieber, a seasoned thrift-store shopper who has long supported CSUEB with generous financial gifts, says, “One can live very well by resisting impulse spending, planning ahead, budgeting, brainstorming and bargaining.”
W.K. Kellogg Foundation Gift Helps SFSU Fill Need For Early-Childhood Teachers
A $750,000 gift from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation will help address California’s chronic shortage of early-childhood teachers. San Francisco State University’s EDvance program, in partnership with the San Francisco State Department of Child and Adolescent Development, has been supporting educators as they earn their degrees in early childhood education. The grant to SFSU’s Marian Wright Edelman Institute will help to continue and advance these efforts.
CSUB Chevron STEM Zone Teaches Kids Science Through Sports
Kids attending home games at California State University, Bakersfield are getting some science along with sports thrills, thanks to the Chevron-funded interactive STEM Zone. Modeled after a children’s discovery center, the STEM Zone features interactive exhibits that teach children about gravity, visual feedback and more as they engage in activities like shooting basketballs with special goggles.
SDSU Leadership Challenge Encourages Innovative Problem Solving
Jimmy and Lily Thai, two former refugees from Vietnam, have funded the SDSU Leadership Challenge, which will provide awards of $2,500, $5,000 and $10,000 to San Diego State University students who develop innovative communityservice projects that address societal problems. The Thais have a cross-generational relationship with SDSU: Lily is a ’94 graduate and the couple’s daughter, Faith, is a San Diego State junior studying communications.
Kaiser Health Foundation Creates Program to Boost Health Outcomes for Fullerton’s Latino Community
The Kaiser Health Foundation-Anaheim has made a $40,000 gift to California State University, Fullerton’s Center for Healthy Neighborhoods. The contribution will create the center’s Latino/Latina Neighborhood Health Advocates program. Over nine months the program will train local residents to act as health liaisons to underserved Spanish-speaking families, helping to increase access to health care and social services, decrease health disparities and reduce preventable emergency room visits.
Stanislaus State Campus Care Aids Fire Victims
In the wake of 2017’s devastating Northern California fires, the California State University, Stanislaus Campus Cares initiative stepped into action to support the needs of students as well as Sonoma State University victims of the fires. Fifty percent of Campus Cares donations raised from October to December 2017 were donated to the Sonoma State Fire Victims Fund, for a total of nearly $8,500.
An Innovative Partnership Offers Veterans Free Tax Preparation Services
In collaboration with Citi Community Development and the Los Angeles Veterans Administration, California State University, Northridge launched free tax preparation clinics for veterans in the Los Angeles area. With funding support from Citi Community Development, CSUN trained veteran volunteers as IRS-certified filers. The peer-to-peer assistance was offered at nine veteran centers throughout Los Angeles County.
With $2.4 Million in Commitments, CPP Begins Construction on New Rose Float Lab and Design Complex
With generous commitments from private donors, including a $1 million lead gift from alumnus Butch Lindley and his wife, Vivien, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona is breaking ground on a new Rose Float Lab and Design Complex.
The complex has an anticipated opening date of 2020 and will include electronics and hydraulic shops, a large bay for float construction and an outdoor courtyard and picnic area for design work, float building, meetings and student gatherings.
At the request of the Lindleys, the lab will be named in honor of alumni Don Miller and Ron Simons. The late Miller was a Cal Poly Pomona student in 1949 when he led the university to make its Rose Parade debut with a float called “A Rocking Horse.” Simons has been a leading supporter of the Rose Float program since his time as a student in the 1960s.
As CPP celebrates its 70th anniversary of participation in the Tournament of Roses Parade, Lindley says he made his investment so students can continue to be involved in the making of the floats and learn about welding, construction, design and more.
Grifols Summer Science Academy at Cal State LA Gives High School Students an Immersive STEM Experience
Twenty local high school students were immersed in research, field activities and hands-on learning during the two weeks of the 2018 Grifols Summer Science Academy at California State University, Los Angeles. Launched in 2015 with a gift from Grifols and sustained by ongoing contributions from the global health care company, the summer academy is designed to encourage minority students to pursue careers in STEM.