August 26, 2002

President's annual fall address is Aug. 29

President Gerth's fall address to the campus community will be at 10 a.m., Thursday, Aug. 29 in the Music Recital Hall. A gathering for coffee and conversation at 9:30 a.m. will precede the address.

President's message from the Aug. 26 CSUS Bulletin

Welcome to the 2002-03 academic year. As we begin this semester, there are many new people on campus to get to know. We have been very successful in our new faculty and staff recruitment. Those of you who served on our search committees have said how impressed you have been with the caliber of candidates we are attracting. As I am getting acquainted with our new faculty and staff, I concur with those sentiments. I hope we will all make them feel welcome.

As you stroll about campus you see many new students-we clearly have become a campus of choice. Our planned capacity on campus is about 32,000 students, and at our current rate of growth we will reach that limit in a few years. This year we have been funded for an increase of about 500 students and to stay within our budget, we have had to be careful in managing our growth. This was accomplished primarily by adhering to our application deadlines.

It is clear from the numbers that we will need to plan well to maintain access and quality. We will do that by addressing physical needs for access to campus for those coming by car and by alternative means of transportation. Our new parking facility on the east side of campus is ready, and this will add some relief. This year we have a new "surge" building to provide additional classroom space and faculty offices. We also are nearing completion of the building which will be the new home of the College of Continuing Education, which is attracting increasing numbers of students. We will soon begin work on a building on the south of campus near the Folsom Boulevard entrance for our Capital Public Radio studio.

One of the things which enables us to maintain our margin of excellence beyond what state resources provide is the generosity of our donors, many of whom are alumni, faculty and staff. Late in the spring semester we received some welcome financial gifts in the form of two bequest commitments to endow two academic chairs, each funded at more than $1 million. These include an anonymously funded chair in public policy and administration and the T. A. Ryan Chair in Criminal Justice. The latter was funded by a distinguished professor emerita of the University of South Carolina, who attended this campus and is grateful for the experience her time here provided in shaping her career. I would also like to thank the many alumni, faculty and staff who continue to contribute generously to making this a better place for our students.

Over the coming year I would ask that we focus on our future, not just life as it has been. We should consider the ways in which the forces of globalization and technology could reshape the structure of our previously geographically defined universities. We should look at how campus life might be. It will be a challenging and stimulating year.

Donald R. Gerth

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