While we celebrate the accomplishments of our alumni yearround at Sacramento State, we set aside the month of April as Alumni Month. It’s a time to recognize our 180,000 alumni and the contributions they make to help their communities to become a better place to live.

They’re teaching in our schools, protecting our safety, building our bridges, and in the case of our cover story, reporting the news. Sac State’s communication studies program is among our largest majors. Our communication grads can be found throughout the region, the state and the country, and they play a vital role in our democratic society.

At this year’s Distinguished Service Awards, we will be recognizing another group of alumni, three former student-athletes whose actions on the playing field and in their communities left a lasting mark. They will join us in previewing the Eli and Edythe Broad Fieldhouse, which will help us attract and educate the next generation of student-athletes.

Today’s students are tomorrow’s workforce, particularly in the Sacramento Region where one in twenty-six residents is a Sac State alum. Employers rely on Sac State graduates as essential components in building the workforce the region needs to keep its schools, hospitals and businesses going strong. Unfortunately, our ability to boost those efforts will be jeopardized by funding cuts to the California State University system. Budget shortfalls will diminish our ability to serve students and curtail our educational offerings. And, particularly devastating to a campus that serves as many first-generation college students as Sac State does, they have the potential to significantly restrict our efforts to make a University education possible for students from underserved populations.

You can play a part in ensuring that Sac State remains affordable and accessible. Contact your legislators and urge them to continue to support higher education. If you are an alum, Happy Alumni Month.

As you look back on your time at Sac State and how it influenced the person you are today, I encourage you to help us ensure that today’s students have the same opportunities that you did