From the President

Each year, I have the opportunity to interview our top graduates—the Dean’s Award recipients. There is one from each of Sacramento State’s academic colleges, and these conversations have become, for me, one of the highlights of the spring semester.

The students tell me about their challenges and their experiences here at Sacramento State. Many have overcome difficult obstacles on their path to success. They frequently mention professors who inspired them, mentored them and helped keep them on the path toward graduation. This year’s group included an artist who works with rarely used natural pigments, an engineering major who uses her technical skills to help improve society, and a single mother who majored in chemistry and also minored in physics.

After the interviews, I have the difficult task of choosing one student to receive the President’s Medal.

These one-on-one interviews are important to me because they offer a powerful affirmation of the value of public higher education. A college education is vitally important for individuals, as well as for California’s overall prosperity and quality of life.

That is why we should all be concerned when the Public Policy Institute of California warns that we will be facing a serious shortage of skilled workers if we do not start producing more college graduates. Even though we have many successful graduates each year, California as a whole is not getting enough young people through college, and it still is not investing nearly enough in higher education.

I wish that many more Californians, as well as their elected leaders, could hear from our graduates, students who have all been successful and are filled with so much hope and promise.

As alumni and friends of Sacramento State, you understand the value of higher education and you can make a real difference. You can be an advocate by asking your legislators to make a stronger commitment to education. You can personally support Sacramento State with your time or resources, and you can encourage young people to seek a college degree (preferably, I would say, at Sacramento State).

There are many more stories waiting to be told by future graduates, and we all have a part to play in making sure that they do, indeed, get told.

Sincerely,
Alexander Gonzalez
President