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opinion
President's greeting
Welcome back to
The BEACH!
I hope all of you
had a great summer and are looking forward to the new academic
year. As many of you know, this is my favorite time of year.
For those of you
who are joining our campus community for the first time, I
wish to congratulate you for selecting Cal State Long Beach
as your university. This is an exciting campus of about 32,000
students, and I know you are going to love it here.
I love the excitement
that's always in the air when we start a new school year.
The staff has been busy all summer making sure that complex
mechanics of opening the semester run smoothly and that everyone
is where everyone is supposed to be the day class starts.
I'm starting my
eighth year with you, and I want you to know how proud I am
to be your president. I have never had a better job.
I enjoy seeing
our returning students greet each other and greet their favorite
professors. I also enjoy working with students; and for those
of you who are new and do not know, I do teach a class every
semester and I am teaching again this fall.
I have had a practice
for the past several years of sharing with you the titles
of some of the interesting books I've read over the summer.
I'm not saying these are necessarily well-reviewed books;
they are just books that I enjoyed reading, books that I thought
you might be interested in.
(1) "The Ice
Master," by Jennifer Niven, is about an ill-fated 1913
Arctic expedition and the crew's desperate attempts to escape
from their entrapment.
(2) "Seabiscuit,"
by Laura Hillenbrand, is about a race horse who became an
American icon during the 1930s. This is one of the most interesting
books I've read in several years.
(3) "Tuesdays
with Morrie," by Mitch Albom, is about a sports writer's
visits with a dying former professor and the wisdom he gains
from those visits.
(4) "John
Adams," by David McCullough, is the story of a true American
patriot and hero. This book topped the L.A. Times best sellers
list for weeks.
(5) "Calm
Energy," by Dr. Robert Thayer, who is a professor in
our department of psychology. This book covers his research
in everyday moods and stresses the effects of food and exercise
on those moods.
This is the campus
where students want to enroll. We had 36,800 applications
from students interested in attending this fall. We really
have become the university of choice for so many high-achieving
freshmen and transfer students. We will have approximately
4,350 entering freshmen, 3,500 new upper-division transfers,
and 2,000 new post-baccalaureate and graduate students.
When you see me
around campus, I would really enjoy it if you could take a
moment to introduce yourself to me.
During your free
time I hope that you will actively seek the numerous opportunities
to enjoy campus life.
Not only are there
a number of athletic events scheduled each week but there
are also dance, music and theatre performances planned throughout
the academic year.
Go BEACH!
--
Robert C. Maxson
CSULB President
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