I'm delighted to report that CSULB's President's Scholars program continues to attract many of California's top high school students to Cal State Long Beach. This year we received more than 600 applications and with your exemplary support have awarded 52 scholarships this fall.
I’m also pleased to note that the university concluded the 2007-08 academic year with the largest graduating class in its history—8,225 students. Among these were a number of President’s Scholars including Christopher Bodziak, who earned double degrees in chemical engineering and business, and Terri Marie Iler, who earned degrees in English education and Italian studies. They were selected as the outstanding graduates of the College of Engineering and College of Liberal Arts, respectively.
As I watched this year's Scholar graduates receive their degrees at Commencement, I noted how this exceptional scholarship program has paved the way to personal and professional success for these students over the years.
A great deal of the success of the President's Scholars program is directly attributable to our President's Associates. This dedicated group of supporters not only contributes generously to provide our scholarships, they also give generously of their time in a number of ways. Many encourage others to support the program by becoming President's Associates. They also share the program with their friends and family expressing the benefits of attending Cal State Long Beach and their experiences with the program.
It's always a pleasure to introduce the new Scholars and their families to the CSULB community during our annual Convocation at the beginning of each fall semester. The warm applause from our faculty and staff during their introduction reinforces that these families made the right decision in selecting CSULB.
I'm grateful to our many supporters who make the President's Scholars program one of California's premier academic scholarships.
