A dramatic new entry avenue will draw the community from Shaw Avenue toward the new and expanded Henry Madden Library and the Student Union at the heart of our academic campus.

Also in the development stage is Campus Pointe, a public-private project with extensive educational benefits that will include residential, commercial, office, entertainment and hotel development on the eastern edge of the campus. A Hyatt Place hotel will be part of Campus Pointe, allowing us to host small conferences and community events and adding to our community’s inventory of hotel space that helps attract larger conventions and conferences.

There has been considerable faculty interest in developing an event management/hospitality major at Fresno State. As our provost has said we currently have elements of that major and the addition of Campus Pointe, will mean our faculty and students will have an excellent opportunity to develop this major further. The theatre included as part of the plan will be able to accommodate large classes and seminars. Our students in gerontology, sociology and physical therapy will be able to work with residents of senior housing. And Campus Pointe will offer housing appropriate for older and married students, faculty and retirees.

We are working with the cities of Clovis and Fresno and with other government entities to move the project forward.

Another powerful indicator of our success … Over the past 90 days, donors have made 14½ million dollars in commitments to this university. The demonstration of support by private individuals and corporations to the university is inspiring.

The Campaign for Fresno State is gathering momentum with the Table Mountain Rancheria’s $10 million gift to the Madden Library and a $1.5 million endowment from Arnold and Dianne Gazarian for a Real Estate Center in the Craig School of Business. Similar substantial gifts to the university will be announced in the next few weeks and months.

Bud and Jan Richter – the campaign co-chairs – and many other volunteers, faculty and staff – are encouraging new support for Fresno State. They are working with potential donors who share the goal of improving our ability to give students and faculty opportunities to meet the many challenges to the central San Joaquin Valley and beyond.

People are realizing what Fresno State is doing for the community and contributing to how it can be even greater. They are creating a vision with us of what this university can become.

That vision is typified by Table Mountain Rancheria’s generosity – the largest cash gift in university history. The gift will allow design enhancements to the library project that reflect the region’s physical beauty and American Indian heritage.

The new library itself will become not only our largest academic building; it will be the biggest library in the CSU system. Our library will be equipped with the latest technology and roomy enough for hundreds more study areas, additional public space, more special-exhibit areas and be spacious enough to house 2 million books instead of our current 1 million.

Our first concrete for the new building has been poured and the structural steel will start going up next month as we progress toward the opening in 2008. And that’s progress I love to see.

But it’s also a reminder that there is a lot more hard work ahead on the Campaign for Fresno State. We are moving ahead, but our success depends on all of us helping and staying involved, following the example of our alumni and the community at large.

Let me quickly review some other signs of progress.

Our International Center for Water Technology, under the leadership of Dave Zoldoske and Dean Boyer, is accelerating its mission with global resonance: finding ways to make the best use of decreasing water resources. We have partnered with the Central Valley Business Incubator and in February we will open the Claude Laval Water and Energy Technology incubator which will provide space and support to develop good ideas into businesses. Our campus also will host an international conference on water technology in April.

Our Technology Infrastructure Initiative continues to bring the latest high speed networking to the campus and we’re working to complete solar power facilities in campus parking lots to generate energy for the campus. Work on the solar project should begin in February along with the first connections to the new network.

Another new initiative that is under way is the movement to online recruiting for faculty and staff. This is another step towards embracing features of the newest People Soft HCM 8.9 version which will include a roll-out in the spring semester of online recruiting.

There’s also positive news on the state front: Governor Schwarzenegger’s proposed $299.5 million increase for the California State University would fully fund the trustees’ budget request for 2007/08 based on the Higher Education Compact. The proposed budget recognizes the funding agreement under the Compact for Higher Education, which provides a four percent increase for general operations, supports enrollment growth of 2.5 percent (or 11,000 new students), and provides $2 million to continue CSU efforts to increase the number of K-12 math and science teachers.

The 2007/08 governor’s budget also assumes nearly $123 million in student fee revenue based on a 10 percent increase in student fees and fee revenue associated with the 2.5 percent enrollment growth.

The governor’s proposed budget does cut $7 million from funds currently used to support CSU campus-based outreach programs. Chancellor Reed has already said that CSU appreciates the governor’s recommended funding of the compact, but also has noted his concerns over the reduction in outreach programs. Also, I join with the Chancellor in stressing the need for an additional one percent funding above the compact to fund a multi-year plan to reduce the lags between CSU faculty and staff salaries and national benchmarks. For Fresno State and the CSU to remain competitive we must be able to improve the salaries of both our faculty and staff.

I was delighted to see that the CSUEU reached an agreement with the CSU and am hopeful that an agreement can be completed with the CFA to ensure that faculty receive the compensation and benefits they deserve and which will keep us competitive.

We all will have the opportunity to help the overall California State University plan for its future in a few weeks. The CSU’s own strategic planning effort – called Access to Excellence – which will establish specific program objectives, set priorities and guide resources for the entire system over the next several years.

To ensure a more comprehensive initiative, Access to Excellence will begin with conversations on each campus around a common set of themes and questions that will be addressed by students, faculty, staff, alumni, community partners and administrators. Throughout the morning of March 6, beginning at 8:45 a.m., Fresno State will host such a campuswide conversation to generate views into the system. I’ll team up with CSU trustees Carol Chandler and Jennifer Reimer to lead this discussion to ensure that Central California issues and interests are well represented within the CSU.

And please…during this busy semester, please consider becoming involved in the university’s Wellness Services program. The physical, social, intellectual, occupational, emotional and spiritual well-being of our campus community is very important. The University Health and Psychological Services and the Division of Student Affairs is teaming up with Human Resources in Administrative Services to sponsor a Wellness Challenge this spring. I urge faculty and staff to participate in the activities that promote balance, health and vitality.

The progress we are making together is transforming this great university and helping transform our region and accomplish great things around the world. I want to thank you all – everyone in this room – for your commitment to making Fresno State the incredible place it is.