August 18, 2008

Welcome everyone and a special welcome to our new faculty. We are so pleased that you are joining us this fall.

This year will be an exciting time of change. It's been said that the only thing constant in life is change. People change, things change, circumstances change. Some change is small, some is big. Change can be subtle or blatant and it can be easy or difficult.

I believe a season of change brings the opportunity to dream - about the days immediately ahead of us and the longer term.

We’ve been dreaming big for some time in our effort to Power the New California. As Steve Levy states in his recent economic growth report, “Regions that create great places to live and work can and should expect growth in … jobs and residents. People and businesses will be attracted to regions where the schools are good, transportation systems move people and goods efficiently, the environment is good or improving and housing is available and affordable.”

This is our task as the university leads the way in Central California – the region becoming known as the New California. We must help to transform our region’s dreams into reality with cutting-edge research in agriculture and water, by developing entrepreneurs and training teachers, nurses and businesspeople. We set an example for the community through our own commitment to sustainability and "green" initiatives.

With the help of our faculty, staff and administrators, we have been leaders, and we can continue to make dreams come true for our students and our community.

And not only must we prepare educated leaders dedicated to this region, we must also link and align our resources with other key institutions to build the New California.

All of us at Fresno State should be dreaming of new possibilities for personal and professional growth and service. We should dream about how we can respond to our students’ needs and help them understand how they will help address the pressing issues of today and tomorrow.

We should find fellow dreamers with whom we can partner and who want to join us in meeting the challenges of change. I ask you all to take a moment right now to look down the rows and around the room. These are your partners. Some you know, others you don't – yet. But if we're all open to change and new perspectives, we can achieve the impossible.

Speaking of incredible achievement, I'd again like to congratulate Coach Mike Batesole and the 2008 College World Series Championship Bulldog baseball team.

What an effort! Coach Batesole, his assistants and the student-athletes dreamed about success and then worked as a team to achieve it. But the real story of this success is what happened when an extraordinary teaching effort connected with each student on the team and everyone achieved above what they thought was possible. It’s what happens regularly in our classrooms and it’s why we have so many extraordinary alums who have led in many fields of endeavors.

People like:

• Dr. Robert Cannell, the chief beef and pork buyer for McDonald’s Restaurants.

• Steve Heinrichs, C.P.A. and managing partner for Bulldog Capital Partners.

• Brad Lewis, producer at Pixar Animation Studios and Golden Globe winner for the movie “Ratatouille.”

• Vida Ilderem, Vice President of Physical and Digital Realization Research at Motorola Laboratories.

• Thomas L. Williams, CEO of Universal Parks and Resorts.

• Malinda Pennoyer Chouinard, co-founder of Patagonia sportswear.

• Roy Christopher, eight-time Emmy award winning set designer.

• Sam Iacobellis, retired executive vice president and deputy chairman at Rockwell International, who is known as the Father of the B1-B Bomber.

• The late Rick Husband, commander of the Space Shuttle Columbia.

• Dr. Derrick Mitchell, our 1998 President’s Medalist, who is now an emergency room physician in the Houston area.

• Laura Berg, Olympic gold medalist in softball who this month is competing in the Beijing Olympics. All of these Fresno State alums have achieved world-class status in their fields.

This is what our University is all about. I am confident that we can achieve our dream to become one of the top 10 engaged Universities in this country. We are already gaining that recognition. As one example, the Coalition of Metropolitan and Urban Universities has selected us as the site for their national conference in October, 2010.That organization wants to see what is happening at Fresno State and how we are successfully connecting with our region!

Now, let’s look at the changes ahead of us.

First – and most exciting – is the new Madden Library. The books are already back ... the interior work is progressing ... the exterior already is a campus landmark ... and we're on schedule for a January opening.

Soon, library faculty and staff will move into the building, and staff from the Thomas Administration Building will move into the Harold Haak Administrative Center on the fourth floor of the library. The Thomas building will be renovated to help us add much-needed office space for programs that will benefit from being in the center of campus and allow us to improve services for students. We’ll work together to make our changes as stress-free as possible.

Next time we get together, we won’t be talking about library construction – we will be talking about how much we are enjoying the biggest and best library in the CSU.

There will be significant moves involving people in ITS, the North Gym, the Learning Resource Center, Joyal Administration and the University Center.

Because of all the office moves this year, we have decided to forgo a printed campus telephone directory. You’ll find the online directory at the address on the screen.

Other changes for us this year will be a new telephone system, new calendar system and new e-mail software. When they’re in place, our collaboration and communication will be greatly enhanced. You will be hearing a lot more about these projects as we get ready to roll them out.

We also will have four major building projects under way:

First, construction of the first phase of multi-family workforce housing has begun at Campus Pointe, the mixed use public/private development project located east of the Save Mart Center. The first phase of housing will be completed in late Spring 2009. Construction on the retail and second phase of housing is expected to begin sometime early next year. Construction of the Hyatt Place Hotel and the senior housing project will begin in late next year.

Second, University High School will have a groundbreaking ceremony November 7th.The high school will be located near the Joyal Administration Building and adjacent to the Smittcamp Alumni House. The new University High will consist of a one-story administrative wing and two classroom wings. There will be roadway improvements for a traffic-friendly student pickup and drop-off zone. The $15.5-million project will be funded from state public school resources, not CSU funds.

University High is an outstanding preparatory charter high school, recently ranked by U.S. News and World Report as 36th among 18,000 public high schools in the nation and seventh in California. We are proud to be the home for this unique school.

Third, parking. As a result of new construction on campus, parking lot enhancements will be implemented in Lot C. They will aid in the parking relocation that is planned for one row of Lot B and enhanced short-term visitor parking.

And fourth, late this fall work should begin on our new swimming complex which will be located northwest of the North Gym. The 50-meter, eight-lane pool and diving well should be finished by February 2010.

As we begin this year, our country is faced with major economic issues. These issues impact severely our state’s financial condition.

Unfortunately, we do not have a new state budget for the fiscal year, but we are planning for reductions. We have made preliminary allocations to divisions based on the governor’s earlier budget plan. I will keep our community informed about the budget as I receive updates.

But even with anticipated reductions in our campus budget, there is much work for us to accomplish to fulfill our mission to "power" our region. The CSU's Access to Excellence plan now adopted calls on us to work to improve alignment with the K-12 and Community College systems. We will seek to go beyond what we have already begun. We will soon announce a major partnership with Fresno Unified designed to improve the college-going rates. Superintendent Michael Hanson and I plan to join hands to launch two other major initiatives to improve opportunities for students.

In addition to improving the pathway for students to come to Fresno State, we will continue our work to enhance the academic success of our enrolled students. The Student Success Task Force, made up of faculty, Academic Affairs and Student Affairs staff, continues to do excellent work and will be introducing new initiatives in the coming year.

As a result of last year’s retention study, for example, we are ready to take steps forward to improve first-year student retention by offering additional academic support for those who are struggling in their classes, and by introducing a discussion on mandatory advising for first-year students.

Vice President Oliaro and Provost Echeverria report we will continue to expand supplemental instruction and learning communities. The Academic Testing Center pilot project launched last spring has been successful and will be continued through this school year. We have become a national leader in retaining students. Now we seek to become a national leader in the number of students we graduate. We are moving in the right direction as we have seen an increase in our 6-year graduation rates for the past two years– but we must continue this positive trend. I’ve told you in the past about another dream of mine ... that our campus community provides 1 million hours of service by our Centennial in 2011. Last year we provided our community with 667,000 hours of service – a whopping 40 percent increase over the previous year. Those hours are valued at about $16 million.

According to the Richter Center, fewer than 400 faculty and staff members reported providing nearly 70,000 hours of the total. I encourage all faculty and staff members to get involved and report their community service.

When you came in today you were handed a flyer on this effort. Please read it to find out what impact you can make, then include community service in your dreams for this academic year.

We have lots of good news to report about the work of our faculty in research, scholarship and leadership:

• Dr. David Zoldoske was named by Chancellor Reed to serve in a new position as top water policy adviser for the CSU system. He will provide research and policy analysis on water-related issues for various agencies and stakeholder groups within California. Dave will continue to be housed on our campus.

• Dr. Keith Clement, Dr. Ken Ryan and Dr. Peter English are leading the effort to bring together CSU faculty to address issues in emergency management and homeland security.

• Dr. Benjamin Boone is working to bring music education, appreciation and college exposure to extremely at-risk youth at the Teilman Education Center.

• Dr. Matthew Jendian is partnering with numerous organizations to bolster the nonprofit sector in our region, especially through the American Humanics program. He has done extensive work in neighborhood organizing, especially in the El Dorado Park area.

• Dr. Tamyra Pierce, Betsy Hays and Jan Edwards have been tireless in their work on energy conservation, recycling, sustainability and promoting service to the entire campus community.

• Dr. Matthew Yen and Dr. Tom Forgacs are working to develop a new service-learning project that will help provide reliable transportation for low-income families and help fund local nonprofits.

• Dr. James Mullooly is involving students in research projects that assist local nonprofits and communities determine effective means for dealing with the issues that confront them. And finally, the entire Department of Management has adopted the Community Food Bank. Faculty and staff have become personally involved in volunteering, as well as helping with research and involving students in the quest to help the region’s needy.

As we provide our expertise to help the community deal with significant challenges, we want the community to appreciate what we’re accomplishing together. A community group called the Friends of Fresno State will issue a report this fall about new ways the university can provide a balanced view of its contributions to the region.

Our campus communications professionals and all of you interacting with your contacts in the community have done an excellent job getting the word out. But we need to develop new ways to effectively tell our story and to inform this region about the incredible work of our faculty and staff.

You've heard me and Athletics Director Thomas Boeh saying we have created a new era in Bulldog Athletics. Well, it's not just talk; it’s happening.

We had 108 Academic All-WAC selections among our student-athletes last year, five track and field Academic All-Americans, and a baseball Academic All-American.

We have developed a new gender equity plan which will guide us for the next five years.

We have completed the NCAA certification self-study and will be visited by a team this fall.

This past year, Fresno State claimed its first-ever Western Athletic Conference Commissioners Cup. It is awarded to the school that performs best in the conference's 19 men's and women's championships.

WAC championships were won by the baseball, women's basketball, women's golf and women's tennis teams.

Women's basketball and women's golf had never won the WAC before. The women's tennis team won its seventh straight WAC championship and baseball, its third in a row.

The softball, women's track and field, football, soccer, men's tennis and men's golf teams finished either second or third in the league.

All of this in addition to the baseball national championship. What an impressive list of accomplishments!

As we look to the future, we'll also be looking into our past. Our Centennial Leadership Committee has begun discussing a variety of activities and celebrations that begin in April, 2010, and conclude with Commencement in 2011.

Today – in its debut - is our Centennial logo. It was designed by graphic artist Todd Graves in University Communications and will start appearing soon in a variety of uses as we move toward our 100-year celebration. A Centennial Web site is being created, and Dr. Daniel Cady in the History Department has developed a course to bring students into research that will lead to a Centennial book. You've heard me talk in the last few years about our Campaign for Fresno State. Our team under the direction of Vice President Peter Smits and Associate Vice President Mary Anna Dunn is working hard alongside an exceptional group of volunteers headed by Jan and Bud Richter in what is called the quiet phase of the campaign. It may be "quiet," but significant success has been achieved – more than $80 million raised as of June 30.

This morning I am pleased to announce another major commitment to the College of Engineering, which will transform that college forever. Bill Lyles, a long-time community leader and friend of the university, his family and their companies, have committed a $10 million gift to Engineering and the University agrees to seek an additional $10 million in support for the College in the coming years. The total impact over time will be $20 million for the college!

This gift will allow us to advance student academic excellence and scholarship, enhance laboratories and equipment, and promote faculty excellence. We will educate and train our share of critically-needed engineers and construction managers for the nation and the world. In recognition of this extraordinary gift I will consult with the Academic Senate Executive committee and then ask the CSU Board of Trustees to name the college the Lyles College of Engineering.

Our goal is to reach nucleus fund commitments of $100 million by the end of December before we publicly announce the campaign and its goal. The Lyles gift puts us within reach.

The campaign will help us fund the changes we need in the future to achieve many of our dreams of today.

I recently came across this quote by motivational speaker Denis Waitley:

“There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist or to accept responsibility for changing them."

I ask you to join me this year in working to create opportunities to bring positive changes and advance our mission of service to our students and the community.

Thank you all for everything you do for Fresno State.