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Help me welcoming that 8th president of California State University, Fresno, Dr. Joseph I. Castro.
Good morning! Thank you Lynn for that very kind introduction and thank you so much for the
wonderful welcome that you have given me since the announcement of my appointment back in May.
It's an honor to be here, and I want
to acknowledge three key campus leaders -- Grace Liu and Lynn Williams, who you have just heard from.
Thank you Grace for your kind words, and I want to also acknowledge today Associated
Students President, Moses Menchaca, who is sitting up front here, as our president, Moses,
thank you. We're seeing each other almost every day, I like that, that's good, that's good. Fresno
State is very, very fortunate to have these three individuals here as leaders in our campus community.
If you've read the many media reports about me in the last two months, and I apologize
if it's more than you wanted to see, you know that family is very important to me.
Today, I'd like to have you meet my wife Mary, who is eager to get to know you and be involved
in the Fresno State family. She is an incredible life partner, a wonderful mother to our three
children and she's as happy as I am to be here today. So please, meet Mary! Mary you
want to stand up? I stand here today honored, humbled and thrilled
to join you as the 8th president of California State University, Fresno!
It is my joy to assume the leadership position at one of the best universities in California
and the nation, and today, in my first fall Assembly with you as we begin our 103rd year,
I pledge to do my very best to ensure that the legacy of our university is secure. Like
you, I am 100% dedicated to helping our students succeed at Fresno State and to continue their
education in graduate school or move into careers of distinction and service. This work
is deeply personal to me as the first Valley native to serve as President of Fresno State.
Thank you. Today, as we begin a new chapter at Fresno
State and look forward to what I believe is a very bright future, I want to start by taking
a few moments to look back. For the past 22 years, this university was led by a president,
Dr. John Welty, who was one of the finest leaders ever to serve in the California State
University system. University historians will, I believe, credit
Dr. Welty for the vision, creativity and gumption to take the intentional steps -- and some
were very difficult steps with all of you -- to mold Fresno State into a premier, 21st
century institution. So much of what we see on campus today was made possible by President
Welty's leadership: new academic programs and strengthening of existing ones; many new
buildings; a successful athletics program; and a community service program that regularly
wins national attention. And while Dr. Welty is not here today -- my
bet is that since he's such an early riser he's probably somewhere on the back nine--
I would like us all to honor his service to Fresno State. I ask you to join me in a round
of applause for Dr. John Welty. I was born 46 years ago in the then-sleepy
little town of Hanford. How many of you are from Hanford? Alright, we got a few! My grandparents
were farmworkers -- he was from Mexico and she was from Southern California -- and my mother
worked as a beautician to support me and later, my sister.
I grew up surrounded by a loving extended family; a family that told me and my sister
that we should set our sights high and that we should plan to attend college.
I was a pretty good student, editor of the high school newspaper and the most valuable
player of the varsity tennis team in my senior year. And I need to tell the truth, my coach
actually made us most valuable player...we had a great year, great team. While I excelled at
academics and on the tennis courts, perhaps my most valuable lessons came as I spent time
after school and on some Saturdays in my mother's beauty salon. "Embracing diversity" was not
a catch phrase in those days, but it was an unmistakable lesson I learned from daily observation
of the harmony of cultures and backgrounds in my mother's friends and clients.
I was drawn to public service in high school through the Chicano Latino Youth Leadership
Project, but I didn't know what or how that would happen until the light bulb came on
when I was an undergraduate at UC Berkeley. The vital importance to society of colleges
and universities became clear to me at that time, and I committed myself to helping transform
lives through a career in higher education. Probably sounds familiar to a lot of you if
not all of you. My journey to become Fresno State's president
started just 40 miles away and took me to five UC campuses throughout California and
the UC Office of the President. On my journey, I encountered life and workplace lessons and
experienced successes that combined to prepare me for my work here, with all of you.
And where will we go from here? What lies ahead for you, and me and Fresno State? As
I said earlier, I believe a bright future is ahead -- if we are willing to be proactive,
creative, collaborative, strategic -- and yes -- bold.
Before we look into the future, let's review a few of this university's recent achievements,
which make it clear to me that the foundation for the future is a very strong one.
More than 4,900 degrees were awarded at our 102nd University Commencement in May. That
included over 4,000 bachelor's degrees, 794 master's, 10 education specialist degrees
and 38 doctorate degrees. Dr. T. Alan Hurwitz, president of Gallaudet University in Washington,
D.C., and a role model for deaf and hard of hearing students, received an honorary Doctor
of Humane Letters degree recognizing his achievements, leadership and contributions on a national
scale.
A significant achievement was the completion of an important document called, "A Strategic
Plan for Inclusion, Respect, and Equity," by the President's Commission on Human Relations
and Equity. As Dr. Welty wrote in a message about ASPIRE, "Fresno State is an institution
where exploring the diversity of thought and opinion is valued as a means of enriching
knowledge and thinking critically while discouraging marginalization during the process. The Commission
developed a comprehensive plan to make sure this commitment is understood across our campus."
For the fourth straight year our faculty and staff have joined students in achieving more
than 1 million hours in service to our community. I congratulate all who have participated in
making our region a better place to live and I pledge our continuing commitment to community
service.
This fall we'll welcome a record 22,710 students. Isn't that amazing? We will have a record
number of first-time freshmen and a record number of upper division transfer students.
And additionally, over 700 new graduate/credential students will begin classes. We believe that
having a state budget approved early and no fee increase has made it easier for families
to plan for this year.
Another record in enrollment is the 300 new international students. That brings the total
number of international students to more than 600, about 130 more than last year.
Through the dedicated efforts of faculty search committees during the past academic year,
the campus community pursued aggressive recruiting strategies to seek and attract the most qualified
candidates with an emphasis on reaching a diverse body of candidates. Our successes
in this area have resulted in attracting 48 highly qualified professors and the most diverse
team of new faculty in decades. I met many of them at new faculty orientation last week.
And I'd like to ask all of the new faculty stand to be welcomed to the university. We've
also welcomed many new staff members that I've not yet had the opportunity to meet and
I'd like our new staff members, who joined us in 2013, to please stand. Thank you.
Our dedicated plant operations staff helped get the campus through a major power outage
in January. We recovered from that episode, but our infrastructure needs are urgent. We
are developing a plan to address the first priority related to the electrical infrastructure
and safety. This is a very big deal for us and we are determined to get this work done
as quickly as possible. I will share more plans with you as they progress.
Scores of Fresno State students, faculty, staff and alumni won awards and honors over
this past year. I Googled the word "awards" on our FresnoStateNews.com website and it
came up with 3,570 results. That's pretty impressive. Then I tried the word "honors"
and it listed 3,430 results! So it's clear to me that our campus community is filled
with amazing people who are being recognized for their work everything from being selected
for a United Nations project in the Kingdom of Bhutan, to being named recipient of the
National Character Education award, to being named a U.S. Department of Education Teaching
Fellow and I remember this not too long ago, to winning the first Gilroy Garlic Bowl Championship.
I have to say it again -- this is an amazing community! Join me in congratulating all of them.
The list of awards and achievements is also long for our Athletics programs, both in the
classroom and on the playing fields. Fresno State Athletics began its journey in the Mountain
West Conference with two championships -- in football and women's basketball. We also had
six individual conference champions in swimming and diving and in men's and women's track
and field. The Bulldogs had their first unanimous All-American
in football, with three All-Americans overall in football and two All-Americans in baseball.
And overall, six student-athletes were named Players of the Year in their respective sports.
In the classroom, the excellence of our student-athletes is even more dramatic. Combining the fall
and spring honors, 133 student-athletes were named Academic All-Conference. In addition,
Fresno State won the Mountain West Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Community Service award
for outstanding work throughout the Valley. And while the list of campus excellence could
go on and on, there's one last major achievement I want to recognize: Fresno State made history
this year with the successful, over-the-goal completion of our first comprehensive fundraising
effort, the Campaign for Fresno State. Having done fundraising throughout my career, I know
just how challenging it can be. And this Campaign was conducted during the worst economic downturn
in decades! But our Advancement Division persevered, and blew past the $200 million goal and completed
the campaign 7% above goal at $214.2 million. I think that deserves some applause.
During this nearly 8-year effort, we received 163,000 gifts from more than 34,000 donors.
And while this Campaign is completed, we will continue our efforts to bring in gifts and
grants to the university to augment our state funding. This year's state budget is stable,
but it's not adequate to meet the increasing demands for a Fresno State education from
people in our region and throughout the state. Private support is crucial to our mission
to serve students and our fundraising efforts will continue in earnest.
I will have spent the last two months, almost three now, "friend raising" for Fresno State,
as I've prepared to move into the presidency. I'll continue to do so throughout my presidency,
and I believe this will set the stage for our fundraising efforts to come.
In addition to fundraising, we also must continue our efforts to improve our budget in order
to provide access to students who want to attend Fresno State. Along with other CSU
officials, I will work with our elected officials and all stakeholders on securing increased
state and federal investment for student success. Now, turning to the future, you might be wondering
about my plans and priorities as your president. It's okay if you're not.
Well, ladies and gentlemen, I've been on the job 19 days so I don't yet have a wide-ranging,
comprehensive plan!! But seriously, it's premature for that to happen anyway.
But I do have many ideas, and some questions to ask you, and I think they can provide a
framework as we work together in the coming weeks and months. They are questions I'll
be asking often as I meet with individuals and groups on campus:
So here's question one -- Will you join me in honest communications? I really want to
hear from the members of our campus family and the community at large. I'd like you to
tell me what you love about Fresno State and I'd like you to tell me about your ideas,
about how we can improve Fresno State. To make this communication easy, we have created
a new Web feedback page where you can easily and anonymously enter your ideas. We'll compile
the ideas and publish them so we can continue the dialogue on making Fresno State an even
better university. The webpage is already ready for your feedback. Please go to www.fresnostate.edu/president/feedback
and please share your thoughts. Then, will you please join me on Twitter to
enhance our communication with each other as well as our students who are digital natives
and live in a social media world? Several of you were tweeting last night about today,
and I really appreciate that, I appreciate all your support. So I'd like you to ask you to
join me on social media. You're up for that? Will you join me in embracing the latest technology
for 21st century teaching in order to effectively engage the complex, evolving learning styles
of today's students? I am on record already supporting the idea of getting computer tablets
into the hands of all our students for academic uses. Lynn told me he likes it. We need to
explore the idea thoroughly with appropriate consultation, but I think we can make this
happen. I believe students will enjoy a savings in textbook costs and find convenient and
modern ways to collaborate with each other and faculty with their tablets. Also, will
you join me in embracing the latest technological tools and cutting edge methods in our administrative
processes and student services to enhance engagement and interactive dialogue across
the university community? Now, I know that, for some, technology is new. Lynn and I
were talking about this the other day. Both of us share a lot of things in common, but
one thing we were laughing the other day, is that our mothers both just bought tables
within the last month and the good and not so good things about that. I just wanted you
to know that I'm seeing that change from within my family and so is Lynn.
Will you join me in stretching ourselves to try new ways of doing business -- and to be
willing to discard those things that fail so that we can embrace those that serve us well?
Another question, will you join me in building
a new sense of well-being and community at Fresno State? And I agree with some of the
prior comments that we have a wonderful community. I am committed to investing in our people
and making our campus one of the best places anywhere to work -- a community that is free
from bullying, so no bullies anymore, and full of affirming, collegial relationships
and where cultural competence is embraced throughout the university. A community where
it's not "me" or "them," but all of "us." As we continue to recruit and retain the most
talented and diverse faculty and staff, we will continue to invest in all of you. I hope
you will take advantage of professional development and wellness programs that will be rolled
out in the near future. And I've asked Provost Andrew Hoff and Vice President Cynthia Matson
to co-chair a committee that will work on this in the coming weeks and months.
Will you join me as an ambassador for our University who's ready to tell the Fresno
State story to those outside the university walls, and to ask them to help us in our work?
To reconnect with old friends and to develop new ones in our city, state and nation; with
our alumni; and I was just with the Alumni Board in Cambria over the weekend, a wonderful
group of leaders; with business and industry partners who can invest in our students and
programs for the valuable return of a highly educated workforce?
Will you join me in raising awareness of the university and all the fabulous people and
programs here? As the faculty and staff who have committed our careers to this university,
we must be its biggest advocates and ambassadors. If we want people near and far to know about
the good work of Fresno State, it really is up to us to tell them about that work.
And last -- and most important -- will you join me in considering new programs -- academic
and administrative -- that will provide innovations to help students learn, achieve and graduate
... in higher numbers and shorter time frame? Our Valley economy needs and our communities
deserve our very, very best effort in this area.
Our focus must always be on student success. The best definition of that -- and one that
you'll hear often from me -- is the timely completion of coursework and graduation. We must, and
I believe -- we will, together -- increase our graduation rate.
I know there's been much hard work and success in recent years in this area, and that this
is a CSU-wide priority. Now I'd like to amp up those efforts even more. I don't pretend to have all
the answers. I'm asking lots of questions and I have a lot of ideas, but what I'd like
to explore with all of you, what are those things that we're doing that we could continue
to do, what are the things that we are not doing that we could be do to really accelerate
progress in this area. What ideas do you have? I really want to hear from your about this.
I'm asking all of you to join me in making student success our primary focus.
I know this is possible because I participated in such successful efforts in the past and
because I have great confidence in our campus community. I believe that we can do it together!
And as we help students succeed, will you join me in focusing, too, on faculty and staff
success? That means providing and taking advantage of professional development programs of wellness
programs, a commitment to development personal, professional and leadership development.
So I've asked a lot of questions today and in a minute hopefully you'll ask me a few
questions. I'm ready to take on these challenges! I am trilled to be here with all of you. I ask you
will you join me as we shape the future of Fresno State and all of Central California?
I hope you will, because I believe that if we work together, we have the power to propel
this great university to new heights. And as I close today, I want to leave you
with one glimpse into my presidency. Immediately after I was named the new president of Fresno
State on May 22, I participated in a press teleconference to introduce myself to the
community. I told the press that day, and I will say it again today: I intend to be
the president for every student, every faculty member, every staff member, hundreds of thousands
of alumni and friends. I want to make sure that everybody succeeds and thrives.
So one last question, will you join me -- your first Fresno State president from this great Valley?
I know with your help, we can make Fresno
State an even greater university for our children, our grandchildren and all the generations
to come. Thank you very much for joining me this morning.