November 21st, 2012 • Access for Students, Educational Quality
Rear Admiral Thomas A. Cropper
President, California Maritime Academy
President Cropper and Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood during LaHood's recent visit to The California Maritime Academy
Great organizations lead with best-in-the-world attributes. The California Maritime Academy is a world leader in “pracademics” — the practical reinforcement of academics by real world application. Cadets seamlessly go from learning metallurgical concepts in the classroom to creating functioning parts on the Training Ship Golden Bear. Intellectual learning is tested throughout summer training cruises under the guidance of strong faculty and proven maritime professionals. Cal Maritime is exemplary of a devotion to hands-on learning that one encounters on all Cal State campuses. I know the power of this type of education — I have personally witnessed the tremendous benefits of the CSU approach as the proud father of a son who completed his Cal Maritime degree and a daughter who is finishing at San Diego State. More …
Tags: Advocacy, Educator, Ocean, Public Administration, Veteran, Workforce
October 17th, 2012 • Access for Students, Educational Quality, Impact on California
By Jamillah Moore
Chancellor, Ventura County Community College District
Sacramento State Alumna
Dr. Moore speaking with Ventura County Community College District faculty.
I take to heart the fact that community colleges exist to serve the community. Building and strengthening the neighborhoods surrounding the 112-campus California Community College system is a shared mission, central focus and key identifier. This mission involves extending a welcoming hand to high school students and giving our college students a supportive boost into their next phase of life.
The California Masterplan for Higher Education also envisioned a public system that would allow any student to work their way to the highest levels of education. Open access community colleges play a critical role in that plan. Some high school graduates’ grades or family finances are not ready for the university. For them, the community college system is the transfer pathway to success. The CSU and community colleges have been working especially hard over the last two years to make that process smoother as more and more students embrace the community college route to a four-year degree.
As the youngest of six girls, I can relate to family financial pressure. Still, my mother early on laid out “the choice” for her children. We could get a job and support ourselves or go to college and my parents would provide all the support they could. My mother was never very subtle about the option she preferred. A woman who experienced the segregation of the Deep South, she knew that education was the path to empowerment.
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Tags: Advocacy, Alumni, Educator, Public Administration, Service, Working for California
September 7th, 2011 • Educational Quality, Impact on California
Respondia “Dia” Poole
Senior Governmental Affairs Analyst
and Communications Liaison
California Judicial Council
Alumna of CSU San Bernardino
Poole recently spearheaded the ''...And Justice for All'' exhibit recognizing the 50th Anniversary of the first African-American justice in California's Courts of Appeal, and also presented testimony regarding the anniversary to the Judicial Council of California
What does government do? This question seems particularly relevant in the midst of a debate about the size and scope of the public sector. It is also a question that has intrigued me for most of my life.
My family holds public service in high esteem. As a child, I looked up to a father in the military. To me, he demonstrated the willingness to put himself in harm’s way for the protection of others. So, I knew even then that government was there to provide collective security, whether through national defense or public safety.
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Tags: Alumni, Public Administration, Service
August 17th, 2011 • Educational Quality, Impact on California
By Kenneth Millar
Dean of the College of Health and Human Services
CSU Long Beach
Kenneth Millar
The path of my career – from social worker, to professor, to director and now dean – started with the first class I took with my college mentor, Professor Richard McDonald. He was a role model that exemplified the principles I believe in: social justice, democratic social change, public service, equity and empathy. Professor McDonald had his master’s in Social Work, so it seemed fitting that I would also go for an MSW when I completed my undergraduate degree. It was a start for what would be a lifelong journey in higher education.
Positive role models are critical throughout life. Too often, adults entrusted to be parents, guardians and role models are instead the source of pain, abuse and upheaval in a young person’s life. Perhaps the most difficult part of social work involving families is facing how truly vulnerable children are, and how cruel some people can be. More …
Tags: Health, Public Administration, Service, Social Work
February 4th, 2011 • Access for Students, Impact on California
February is an exciting month for the CSU. University trustees, the chancellor, presidents, administrators, faculty and staff will speak at CSU Super Sunday events at more than 100 predominantly African American churches throughout the state. The events reach more than 100,000 churchgoers and are part of CSU’s outreach to educate students and families about the requirements to successfully enter college and obtain a degree.
As the CSU talks to potential students, it is critical to be able to point to those who have graduated and excelled in life. CSU speakers and outreach staff will distribute a flyer showing more than 70 African American distinguished alumni. Below are just a few examples of these leaders and role models.
Distinguished for Philanthropic Magic
Towalame Austin (CSU Dominguez Hills '04) is president of the Magic Johnson Foundation, one of the leading philanthropic organizations in the nation. Among her many accomplishments is launching a highly successful World AIDS Day campaign, 'I Stand with Magic,' in 2006 that tested over 1,300 at-risk individuals for HIV/AIDS.
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Tags: African American Initiative, Alumni, Arts, Educator, Public Administration, Service, Super Sunday, Working for California
December 22nd, 2010 • Access for Students, Impact on California
Major General Anthony L. Jackson, USMC
Commanding General, Marine Corps Installations West
San José State Alumnus
CSU Chancellor Reed and USMC Major General Jackson meet to discuss Troops to College and several other issues that effect both the university and current or former service members.
Although I’ve been in the Marine Corps for over 35 years, I didn’t attend college with the intent of serving in the military. However, I did grow up in a military family. My father was a career enlisted man in the Army and a veteran of World War II and Korea, and my older brother is a Vietnam veteran. A key lesson I absorbed as I grew up was about the value of service.
It’s important to remember that we can all serve something more than ourselves, and in doing so make our communities stronger. I serve our nation as a Marine, but I also serve our Marines by ensuring they can train for their assigned mission, and that their families are cared for before, during, and after deployments.
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Tags: Alumni, Public Administration, Service, Veteran
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