01-19-2012

President Gonzalez’ Spring Address: Do the Unexpected

Full text of President Gonzalez’ address (printer-friendly).   Spring Address photo album.   MORE NEWS Sacramento Business Journal: "Sacramento State Plans Initiative for Innovation" KFBK radio report: "Sac State Sets Values for University Moving Forward"   If you have suggestions, ideas or thoughts about the new “Redefine the Possible” initiative, please let us know here.

Sacramento State President Alexander Gonzalez today announced a bold new initiative to transform Sacramento State into a university for the 21st century.

The campus initiative, titled “Redefine the Possible,” is based on recommendations from Sacramento State faculty, staff and students, as well as input from community members. The initiative focuses on progress, innovation and marshaling intellectual resources. Gonzalez outlined the plan in his annual Spring Address.

“The adversity of the last few years gives us an opportunity to think boldly and creatively, to create new pathways to success – to redefine the possible,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez said the campus community already has been looking beyond deep reductions in state support and working toward major changes that benefit students and improve efficiency.

The new initiative aligns with a set of values identified after reviewing feedback from stakeholders, Gonzalez said. That is, that a university for the 21st century is:

• Excellent and Accessible
• Agile and Efficient
• Modern and Attractive
• A Source of Pride for the Region and Beyond

In the months ahead, the president will ask senior campus leaders to conduct audits to better understand areas for improvement. Additional goals include a new facility for Sacramento State’s science programs, more faculty-driven uses of novel teaching technologies, and better customer service for students and visitors.

“We must not look just at how we can improve, but how we can reinvent ourselves in the name of improvement,” Gonzalez said. “We must stand up for innovation, and stand out in our community, state and nation.

“To redefine the possible, we must ‘Do the Unexpected.’ “

“Redefine the Possible” follows “Destination 2010,” a highly successful initiative that resulted in such notable achievements as the creation of a General Education Honors Program, an Educational Leadership doctorate, additional modernized classrooms and a new, award-winning recreation and wellness facility, The WELL.