Provost's Message - January 16, 2019

A Message From Provost Jersky

Dear Campus Community,

Happy New Year and welcome back to campus! I hope you all had a wonderful break and were able to rest during your time off; I know I did.  

Onward and Upward

With the New Year comes a flurry of activities, opportunities and of course, great news to kick off our year.

• Our four-year graduation rate increased to 28.4 percent this year, up from 25.7 percent last year and 16.7 percent in 2016. This rather large jump is significant since it means we are creating a clear pathway for students who wish to graduate in four years.
• Increase in Degrees Awarded: In 2015, CSULB awarded 7,880 bachelor’s degrees.  In 2018, the bachelor’s degrees awarded increased to a new high of 8,986. This increase of 14% (1106 degrees awarded) is the highest increase in CSULB history.
• Increase in Access: In 2015 CSULB admitted a total of 9,450 students.  In 2019-20, CSULB plans to admit 11,400 students, which is a 20% increase (~ 2,000 students).  This increase in access is a direct result of Graduation Initiative 2025.
• Commitment to Local Access:  CSULB receives over 100,000 applications each year.  About 6,000 of these are local applicants who meet CSU admission criteria.  CSULB continues to provide admission to ALL qualified local applicants as part of the Long Beach Promise commitment.

• We were recently ranked fifth in the nation this year for awarding transfer students degrees, by Money magazine.
• Our campus came in second with awarding the most bachelor’s degrees to minorities in the nation in 2016-17, according to the 2018 issue of Diverse: Issues in Education.  This publication analyzes top universities for bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees conferred in 2017.

I know these are only a few of the recognitions our campus received, but I know more accolades are to come. As always, I appreciate all who worked so tirelessly for our students. Your efforts certainly paid off!

Two Upcoming Events

1. Webinar with Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia and Provost Jersky

Join the Discussion: February 19th 12:00 PM

Higher education not only benefits individuals with a college degree, but also the state. College graduates are more likely to earn more and maintain employment than those without a college degree. California is projecting a bachelor’s degrees shortfall of 1.1 million college graduates by 2030. What is our campus and community doing to keep up with the changing economy?

Provost Brian Jersky invites the CSULB campus and surrounding Long Beach community to a one-hour webinar on February 19 at 12:00 pm to discuss the future and impact of higher education in California and beyond. Joining the discussion will be the Mayor of Long Beach, Robert Garcia and Lizette Carbajal, Vice President of Community Relations for Telemundo. The webinar, hosted by Provost Jersky, will also include a panel of campus leaders and students. 

Please RSVP

Topics the webinar will explore: 

• Future of higher education 
• Future of learning
• Higher education impact in California

 

2. A Walk with the Provost

Want to know more about the sculptures on our beautiful campus?

Join Provost Jersky on February 22 as he hosts a 30-minute walk where he discusses the history of some of our famous outdoor art installations. The walk is open to faculty and staff on campus. Reserve your spot - space is limited.

What is a Provost?

I wanted to share with you a video that was made this fall. New and current students on campus were asked the question, ‘What is a Provost?’ In my profession, most people (especially off campus) do not know what a provost actually does.  It was fun to answer back to the comments and questions these students have. 

In closing I wanted to acknowledge and applaud the proposed budget our new Governor Gavin Newsom recently proposed. His proposed budget for higher education is definitely more than ever before. Governor Newsom’s bold spending plan is a vote of confidence in higher education.

With that, I hope you all have a wonderful start to the new spring semester,

Brian Jersky
Provost and Senior Vice President

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News

• The University In The Community - The Grunion Gazette with President Jane Conoley
• What is the Future of Higher Education for CSULB? For California? - Join the Discussion: Webinar with Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia and Provost Jersky - February 19th 12:00 PM - Register Here
• A Walk with the Provost - Register Here
   

Academic Affairs News

• Guido Urizar Jr. - CSULB research finds one possible cause of postpartum depression - Long Beach Post
• Guido Urizar Jr. - The ‘baby blues’ culprit - Signal Tribune
• Gwen Goodmanlowe - How nearly 5,000 shark jaws confiscated in Taiwan ended up in the hands of Cal State Long Beach scientists - Orange County Register
• Chris Lowe - California surfer bitten by shark on "miraculously" surviving attack - CBS This Morning
• Nate Onderdonk - L.A.’s earthquake early warning system can save lives, but what about the rest of California? - Orange County Register
• CSULB students launch ‘a new era for rocketry at the Beach’ - Long Beach Post
• Laura D’Anna - Cal State Long Beach researchers are studying ways to reduce cannabis, tobacco use in young, African American gay men - Long Beach Press Telegram
• Search Underway for Associate Dean for the College of Education  
  The search for an Associate Dean for Credential Programs and Community Engagement for the College of Education is currently underway. See all of the administrative searches open in Academic Affairs.
• The CSULB President’s Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW) is seeking nominations from the campus community for 'The Advancement of Women Award' and 'The Community Organization Award' by Friday, January 25, 2019.

In Memoriam

Dr. Dorothy (Dot) May Bowman Goldish, professor of chemistry at CSULB from 1958 to 2008, passed away Dec. 21, 2018.

Dr. Sue Stanley, former Associate Dean in the College of Health and Human Services, passed away on December 19, 2018. A celebration of her life will be held on Saturday, February 2, 2019, from 2-4 pm at the Japanese Garden at CSULB.

Richard D. Green passed away on January 1, 2019 - He gave multiple gifts on campus including the endowed CNSM Richard D. Green Dean, the first at CSULB.

Grants

Nancy Meyer-Adams. Cal SWEC Title IV-E Foster Care. The Regents of the University of California - Berkeley (CalSWEC). CHHS. Social Work. Total Award: $6,984,616. (July 2018 - June 2019)

Shailesh Chandra. Determining Factors for future design and construction of intercity passenger rail maintenance or layover facilities in California. California Department of Transportation. COE. Civil Engineering & Construction Engineering Management. Total Award: $100,120. (December 2018 - November 2019)

Praveen Shankar. Design, Fabrication and Testing of a Robotic System for Maintenance of Wind Turbine Blades - Phase II. Edgewind. COE. Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering. Total Award: $114,821. (September 2018 - May 2019)

Christine Whitcraft. Burris Basin Fish Studies Management Recommendation. Orange County Water District. CNSM. Biological Sciences. Total Award: $80,000. (January 2017 - June 2020)

Barbara Grossman-Thompson. Visualizing gender-based violence in graphic awareness campaigns in Nepal. Queen Mary University London. CLA. International Studies. Total Award: $68,575. (September 2018 - September 2020)

Saba Yohannes-Reda. PUSD MESA Schools Program. Paramount Unified School District. COE. Engineering Student Success Center. Total Award: $25,000. (July 2018 - June 2019)

Hamid Rahai. CFD Investigation of a NASA High Lift Common Research Model with and with CVG's. Edgewind. COE. The Center for Energy and Environmental Research and Services (CEERS). Total Award: $15,845 (November 2018 - May 2019)

Tracy Maples. MEP Program 2017-2018. UCOP. COE. COE Administration. Total Award: $33,269. (July 2018 - June 2019)

Cyrus Jeannette-Parker. Spring 2019 Creative Long Beach Internship. Arts Council for Long Beach. COTA. University Art Museum. Total Award: $2,040. (January 2019 - May 2019)