Busy summer kept campus buzzing

Summer at Sacramento State saw an a number of events including the launch of a new MBA program in Roseville, the return of track and field, the release of a report on the future of higher education and the start of a program to help children at risk for diabetes.

MBA program heads to the hills
Sacramento State is taking another step toward a full-time presence in Placer County. The University’s brand-new MBA for executives program, the EMBA, will welcome its first class on the grounds of PRIDE Industries in Roseville in September. As the University makes plans for a future Placer Campus, the University has been expanding its academic programs in the area by also offering classes toward bachelor’s degrees in selected subjects at Sierra College.

The Roseville-based EMBA offerings are the first in a series of planned off-campus programs designed to make it easier for working professionals to obtain a master’s degree in business. Other potential sites are in Folsom, Rancho Cordova and Sacramento.
More: cbaweb.csus.edu/emba.

Campus hosts naturalization ceremony
In July, Sacramento State was the site of one of California’s largest naturalization ceremonies in decades. Nearly 1,500 Northern and Central Californians walked into Hornet Stadium as citizens of other countries and emerged as Americans.

Congresswoman Doris Matsui and Sacramento City Councilmember Kevin McCarty attended the ceremony presented by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, an agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. U.S. District Court Judge David F. Levi presided. Photo essay

An apple a day may keep diabetes away
Sac State nursing students gave children at risk for diabetes a fun lesson in how to eat right and stay fit this summer. “Project: Healthy Kids,” a series of free day camps in Sacramento’s Oak Park and Del Paso Heights neighborhoods and in the town of Galt offered learning activities, games and fitness classes promoting healthy lifestyles.

The five-day camps for five- to 10-year-olds were designed to make kids aware of healthy eating habits, which they may not learn about otherwise. The program involved 60 nursing students who created the curriculum, wrote proposals to fund the project, produced marketing strategies and worked at the camps. The nursing students are now conducting follow-up research with program participants to evaluate the program’s effectiveness.

The program is a partnership of the Sacramento State Division of Nursing, Health Net of California, and the Community Resources Project WIC (Women, Infants, Children).
More: 278-6714.

Report: Trends point to shortage of college graduates
Current trends indicate California may not get the highly educated workforce it needs to stay competitive without quick action to improve rates of college participation and completion among Latinos and African Americans, according to two reports released by Sacramento State’s Institute for Higher Education Leadership and Policy.

Both reports cited substantial differences in college participation rates among different ethnic groups. College attendance is highest among Asian Americans and lowest among Latinos. If these rates continue, the authors say, the state will see a decline in the overall rate of college participation over the next decade as Latinos become a larger share of the college-age population.

The report “Variations on a Theme” finds substantial gaps across regions and racial groups in college participation and completion as well as statewide shortfalls in several areas. Most notable—the low rates at which high school graduates move directly into college and related low college completion rates.

The second report, “Shared Solutions,” suggests that the state needs to plan if it is to get significant increases in the number of Latino and African American students attending and completing college.

To finance the reforms the authors propose a “shared solution” of increased state appropriations, new student fee/student aid policies, campus-based savings and “systemic efficiencies” to improve the flow of students from high school to college completion, increasing the state’s return on its higher education investment.

Details: “Institute Publications” at the Institute for Higher Education Leadership and Policy website at www.csus.edu/ihe.

Track and Field Championships return
Sacramento State hosted the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships in June and will again in 2006 and 2007. It was the first time since 1945 the NCAA has chosen to hold the meet at the same site in successive years. More than a thousand student-athletes from all over the country took part in the nationally televised event at Hornet Stadium.