Sacramento State Commencement-December 19-20, 2008

The only CSU mid-year semester Commencement Ceremony is held at Arco Arena in Sacramento for Sacramento State. Seven ceremonies were held over a two day period this past year. Approximately 2,500 students received degrees this year.

The Staff at Sac State do an outstanding job organizing this Commencement event.

San Jose State- Campus Visit- November 21, 2008

Paul Richardson, Alumni Director at San Jose State provided a tour of the campus including the John Carlos and Tommie Smith tribute for the 1968 Olympic Awards Ceremony. This tribute was completely campus driven and organized to honor the memory of the controversial expression by these two Olympians who are alums from San Jose State.

That evening San Jose State played Fresno State in Football and a number of the CSU family were present along with campus President Jon Whitmore and Vice President Fred Najjar and CSU East Bay President Mo Qayoumi.

CSU DH- November 17, 2008

Visited with the Alumni,Students and President's cabinet members at CSUDH. President Mildred Garcia has done a terrific job with the new direction of the CSUDH alumni effort. Vice President Greg Saks organized the visit that included meeting with the Alumni leadership and the members of the ASI.

I had the opportunity to visit with President Garcia and discuss her priorities for the upcoming school year. President Garcia is very excityed about the work of VP Saks and the final selection process of the New Alumni Director slated for late January 2009.

CSSA Meeting- CSU Northridge- November 15, 2008

The November meeting for the California State Student Association (CSSA) was held on Saturday November 15 on the campus at Northridge. Bob Linscheid provided the report on behalf of the Alumni Council. All but three campuses were represented that weekend that included a day-long meeting on Friday the 14th with Chancellor Reed and staff to discuss the importance of student involvement in system-wide governance.

Students remain concerned about the rising cost of student fees and the ability of the system to accommodate all students that are CSU qualified. It was during that meeting the Governor announced the selection of Russell Statham of Fresno State as the incoming student Trustee.

50th Anniversary Celebration-CSU Stanislaus

On the weekend of October 25th, the campus community at Cal State Stanislaus celebrated its 50th Anniversary with the presentation of an Honorary Doctorate of Arts and Letters to superstar actor Gary Sinise who played the character of Lt. Dan in Forest Gump.

Following the Gala Dinner, Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band provided entertainment to a crowd of about 2000 excited supporters of the campus.

Trustee Chairman of the Board Jeffrey Bleich presented the Honorary Doctorate on behalf of the Board of Trustees and President Ham Shirvani. Also in attendance from the Board was Dr. Peter Mehas and Alumni Trustee Bob Linscheid.

CSU Facilities Conference- October 23, 2008- Los Angeles

The Office of Campus Facilities once again coordinated the annual Campus Facilities conference this year held in Los Angeles. Campuses representing the UC and the CSU along with vendors that service the campuses were in attendance.

CSU Trustee Bob Linscheid served as presenter of the Student Awards for Sustainability programs in the UC and CSU. Student winners provided the audience with a short power point presentation on the programs.

The grand prize was awarded to Chico State for the SCOOP program that provided audits to reduce the use of energy

October 17- Town & Gown Conference- SLO

The Annual Town and Gown Conference was held in San Luis Obispo on Thursday and Friday October 17 and 18. Best practice programs were held during two-half day sessions. In addition, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell was one of the keynote speakers.

This conference was geared for campus leaders,deans, community and governmental relations, and staff and faculty with expertise in planning, housing and transportation. The cities are inviting elected officials, city managers, county administrators, and planning/community/economic development staff.

I was particularly impressed by the technology, innovation and economic development session put on by the City and University of Boulder. This would be an area of great interest in communities where CSU campuses are located.