Please note that a new Campus Budget FAQ page has just been posted and can be found here. As with the previous FAQ page, this new FAQ will be updated on an ongoing basis as conditions change and new information becomes available regarding the campus budget.
The previous Campus Budget FAQ that was launched June 9 and last updated October 20 has been closed to further changes and will remain accessible here. Both pages can also be accessed at the Campus Budget News main page.
At the President’s Convocation at the beginning of the fall semester, I noted that at my request the vice presidents were developing a three-year budget plan for 2009 through 2012. This plan will ensure that the University can maintain academic quality and excellence for what we project will remain a tight budget environment in the coming years.
An important component of this effort due to declining resources is to methodically continue reducing the University’s enrollment over the next two years while also maintaining a strong infrastructure if conditions and expectations change.
Under the leadership of Vice President for Student Affairs Terry Piper, an enrollment management plan for 2010–11 and 2011-12 has been submitted that meets these goals, which I have approved. I am pleased to share this plan with the campus community, which you will find linked at the Campus Budget News website and which can be downloaded directly from here as a PDF document.
More than a year ago, in spring 2008, following campus consultation and the recommendation of the Student Fee Advisory Committee, I approved the implementation of the Campus Quality Fee for California State University, Northridge. The purpose of the fee and the means by which the funds would be managed are fully described at the Campus Quality Fee website, but the main focus of the fee has been to benefit and enhance the learning experience of our students.
A year later, I am pleased to report that the fee has given the University an opportunity to provide programs and services for students that would not have been otherwise possible. The current budget environment has made the availability of these funds especially crucial and timely. Students have expressed appreciation for the enhanced services and opportunities that the Campus Quality Fee has made possible.
A complete list of the Campus Quality Fee allocations for 2008-09 and the current academic year, 2009-10, can be found at the program’s website, but below are a few that particularly have made a difference in the lives of students:
24/7 Library access: This allocation allowed the Oviatt Library to remain open 24 hours during finals week to give students an opportunity to focus on their exams and final projects.
Computer access: Fee money has been made available to upgrade computers in places like the Library and Music Technology Lab.
Wi-Fi access: Last year, funding was provided to enhance wi-fi access in outdoor areas and campus facilities not covered by state funding; this year, funding was allocated to upgrade wireless support in housing.
Academic support services: Allocations have been provided to support peer learning assistants, professional writing support and tutoring services, and a graduate assistant for a technology lab.
Spirit and environment: Funding has been made available for the Matador Spirit Plaza, the USU North Quad Student Gathering Space, and the College Student Facilities Enhancement Project.
The University is committed to offering a high quality of support for students as they progress toward graduation. However, especially in a constrained budget environment like the one we are currently experiencing, it’s difficult to fund every worthwhile project and initiative that would serve to advance this goal. The Campus Quality Fee provides a much needed and flexible supplement for the University’s efforts that directly benefit students.
During the last recent Board of Trustees meeting of the California State University (CSU) on September 22, I had the great pleasure to attend the Trustee dinner honoring the 2009-10 student recipients of the William Randolph Hearst/CSU Trustees’ Award for Outstanding Achievement. A student recipient is selected from each CSU campus and receives a scholarship award. Recipients are selected for outstanding academic performance, exemplary community service, and significant personal achievements in the face of adversity.
Cal State Northridge’s award recipient this year is Megan Saracini. This extraordinary young woman overcame serious challenges as a young child—including cancer and a home family life that provided little support and nurturing—to become a focused individual who is committed to personal success and serving the community.
As an example of her work, she is a peer counselor in the Counseling Center for Joint Advocates on Disordered Eating on campus, as well as a peer educator in the Counseling Center. She volunteers with Upward Bound, which helps give underprivileged high school students the skills and discipline to succeed in college. Through her leadership as survivorship chair of the Colleges Against Cancer Committee on campus, her club has raised more than $22,000 for the American Cancer Society. She spent spring break helping to rebuild New Orleans. This amazing young woman also identifies 9/11 as another turning point in her life, which occurred just three weeks after she moved to New York City. She spent the next several months after the tragedy volunteering to provide assistance to police, firefighters, and emergency responders.
Amazingly, even with her numerous activities and commitments, and the serious personal obstacles she has had to overcome, she has become a top student at the University! At the reception, Megan told me she loves being at Cal State Northridge—her goal is to become a psychologist specializing in art therapy and to teach on campus.
While Megan is an amazing role model for all of us, her story is also representative of many of our students, who place a value on hard work, the value of education, and the need to give back to the community.
Please join me in congratulating Megan on receiving this distinguished award and for being so exemplary of Cal State Northridge.
On September 25, I joined with many friends and guests—including alumni and past faculty of California State University, Northridge—to celebrate Founders Day at the University Club (now known as the Orange Grove Bistro).
Founders Day is a new annual tradition that began last year as part of the University’s 50th year anniversary celebrations. As noted in my blog last year, Founders Day commemorates the date in 1958 when classes commenced on campus at what was then known as San Fernando Valley State College. It is an opportunity to recognize the University’s past while also building tradition and a sense of pride for Cal State Northridge.
Celebrating Founders Day at the University Club had particular meaning since many of the founding faculty who were present at this year’s event had a hand in building the facility. During the event, we inducted the newest members of the “50 Year Club”—alumni who graduated and faculty and staff who began their service to the University at least 50 years ago.
I’m delighted to have this new tradition that celebrates Cal State Northridge’s history in such a way. Everyone who attended had a wonderful time hearing and sharing stories about the early days of the campus, learning about how much has changed, and looking in anticipation to the future!
As part of its ongoing commitment to encourage even greater pride for Cal State Northridge, Associated Students has instituted “Matatude Tuesdays!” Every Tuesday will be an opportunity for all members of the campus community to show school spirit by wearing the University’s colors—Matador red and black—on that day.
I am delighted to support this activity being led by A.S. under the leadership of its president, Abel Pacheco. It is a wonderful way to demonstrate pride for Cal State Northridge and I hope it will also encourage people to think about other ways they can show pride for the University, such as by attending athletics events, taking advantage of our rich cultural and performing arts programming, and giving back to the University.
I encourage everyone in the campus community to embrace this effort and look forward to seeing a sea of red and black on Tuesdays throughout campus!
There always is a buzz of excitement around the first week of classes. It is a wonderful feeling to welcome students to campus, and to be fully engaged along with faculty and staff in the main mission of the University after summer break.
I recognize that the 2009-10 academic year brings with it special circumstances and challenges: facing significant budget cuts, the University has been forced to take actions that have gravely affected everyone in the campus community, including our students, faculty and staff. As I mentioned in the recent President’s Convocation, we moved the site of the annual address to a different location to take advantage of natural tree shade as both a symbolic and a practical recognition of the new reality we find ourselves in of needing to preserve resources wherever we can while maintaining quality. This week also is the traditional time when I usually host the annual Welcome Back Picnic. Given the uncertainty of the budget and the need to carefully manage resources, after consulting with campus leadership and Associated Students, it was decided not have the picnic this year.
Nevertheless, despite the difficulties of the past few months as the reality of the budget situation came to light, and the many challenges that remain, I am excited that students have returned and that we can re-focus our energies on serving their needs and preparing them for academic and future success.
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Faculty and Staff Budget Forums
As we begin the new academic year and settle in to the new budget reality which has affected many people’s personal finances as well as their ability to be effective at their jobs and get their work done, I recognize there remain many questions and concerns. To this end, I will host a series of budget forums, which are listed below. Recognizing the unique roles and needs of members of the campus community, separate meetings have been organized for faculty and for staff.
Each of the meetings listed below is scheduled to take place in the Presentation Room of the Oviatt Library. I hope you can join me at one of these sessions. I will provide a brief presentation regarding the status of the budget, then open the floor to any questions or concerns you may have.
Faculty Budget Forums:
September 1 – 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.
September 2 – 2:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Staff Budget Forums:
September 2 – 10:00 – 11:00 a.m.
September 8 – 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.
The text to the President’s 10th Annual Convocation address, delivered on Thursday, August 20th, has been posted. It can be found here.
This Friday, August 7, and Monday, August 10, most Cal State Northridge employees— myself included—will take our first state budget furlough days of the year. They represent the first visible and public consequence of the large budget cuts that our campus and the entire California State University system have been forced to take for the 2009-10 academic year.
These state budget closure days mean that students, their parents, and others in the community will not be able to receive timely assistance or answers to their questions and concerns related to classes, services and programs. It will be a very public sign of how the state’s budget and economy have deeply impacted the University and its ability to fulfill its mission and obligations.
These furloughs also reflect the deep harm and hardship being done to the University’s loyal and dedicated employees, who essentially will be taking a 10 percent salary reduction in return for taking two furlough days a month to mitigate deep budget cuts. Given the economic times, I know how challenging these salary reductions will be for many, and have seen first hand among staff and faculty the many difficult decisions and adjustments that will have to made due to lost income.
Just as pernicious will be the impact on the students and surrounding region we serve: we already have turned away students who were otherwise fully deserving and qualified to attend Cal State Northridge, and we will be forced to continue to turn away students to meet the systemwide goal of cutting enrollment by nearly 40,000 students to preserve quality of instruction and programs at the CSU. Many students already have seen a decrease in class selections, and when the new academic year begins I suspect we will begin to see more examples of the extent of the budget cuts.
The lost income, the impact on students, and the effect on our ability to serve the surrounding community are all the result of California being unable to fully meet its mission and obligations to serve the people of the state and, particularly, provide the kind of education that for decades has been the envy of the world and the economic engine of California. These are challenges we will continue to deal with into the 2010-11 academic year.
If you are a student, a member of the public, or an employee, we hope you will recognize that we at Cal State Northridge—the administration in partnership with the staff and faculty—have done our best to manage this severe reduction in resources by maintaining access, jobs and programs as much as possible. While Cal State Northridge is not responsible for this crisis, we are part of a system that has been seriously hampered by a financial calamity, and must share in the burden of helping the state remain solvent.
In the face of what lies ahead, I hope we can face these serious challenges as a community, while acting in a supportive and understanding manner at all levels of the University. As always, I appreciate the outstanding work that continues to be done at Cal State Northridge by its dedicated faculty and staff, and the strength of character everyone has shown during these trying times. Your continued commitment to the University’s mission and its students these past several months speak volumes about the resiliency and excellence of our institution.
Please note the Campus Budget News website and the Campus Budget News FAQs were updated today to point to FAQs on the Faculty Furlough Program (note that this FAQ is a PDF document). These FAQs are on the Faculty Affairs website, and will be updated as new information becomes available.
Due to the rapidly changing nature of the state and CSU budget situation, expect continued updates to the Campus Budget News website and pages linked to the site.
