This is President Jolene Koester's Blog. The following page is a three column layout with a header that contains a quicklinks jump menu and the search CSUN function. Page sections are identified with headers. The footer contains update, contact and emergency information.
Please note that an update to the budget FAQ has been posted and can be found here. The update cites a joint determination announced by the State Treasurer and Finance Director regarding the amount of funding California will receive from the Federal Economic Stimulus package and its impact on the California State University and Cal State Northridge.
This week Associated Students held its elections, which allowed students to elect their student leaders for the 2009-10 academic year. Given the many serious challenges faced by Cal State Northridge and the broader higher education community—especially given the state of the economy and the California budget—students had an opportunity to select leaders who will play leadership roles in advocating for them and representing their interests on campus and statewide.
A.S. plays an essential and invaluable role in the everyday life of the campus. First, of course, they advocate for the primary constituents served by Cal State Northridge directly: students. As elected representatives, the A.S. Senate provides a unified voice for student needs and priorities. They do so through their student governance responsibilities, and through their participation in official University business, such as campus committees, boards and planning groups. These activities give students an opportunity to contribute to and influence the operations and policies of the University, and put them in direct contact with faculty, campus administrators and government officials. A.S. also provides numerous services for students, enhances the quality of life on campus, and promotes University spirit.
I have been greatly privileged to work with the outstanding A.S. leaders over the years. They all have been bright and committed young men and women who represent the best of Cal State Northridge, and are eager to contribute to our mission as a nationally recognized, regionally focused institution.
Given the outstanding qualities of all the candidates, I know students had their work cut out for them as they cast their votes! I hope that all students took advantage of the opportunity this week to vote. I look forward to the outcome and to working productively with a new crop of student leaders next year on the many opportunities and challenges facing students and California State University, Northridge.
Congratulations to the Cal State Northridge men’s basketball team for winning the Big West Conference Tournament Championship! The win caps an exciting and sometimes turbulent season during which the team also won the conference’s regular season title outright. The tournament championship, of course, also sends the team to the NCAA Division I finals tournament for the second time in the squad’s history.
I had the great pleasure to attend the team’s two games in the Big West tournament, including the championship game. As many who watched know, the game went into overtime, but the team demonstrated the kind of resiliency and determination that has been its hallmark throughout the season to win the game.
As we join together to cheer the team in what is one of the premier athletics events in the country, I think it’s important to remember that the players are not only outstanding competitors, but also Cal State Northridge student athletes who attend classes and work towards degrees. They are to be admired and commended for their hard work and efforts both on the basketball court and in the classroom.
All of us should also take great pride in the attention that these student athletes—along with their coaches and the whole Intercollegiate Athletics program—has brought to Cal State Northridge. Their performance and success reflects on the institution as a whole.
Please join with me in wishing the team great success as it heads into its first round NCAA tournament game against Memphis in Kansas City, Missouri, on Thursday, March 19. Game time is set for 11:25 a.m. Central Time.
Go Matadors!