News Release - Apr. 3, 2008

Governor’s $386 million reduction to CSU budget prompts Alliance to urge: Don’t cut the cure

Los Angeles – Under the banner “The CSU is the Solution” and joined by a crowd of about 400, the Alliance for the CSU – a coalition of administrators, faculty, students, alumni, and others – held a public forum April 2 at Cal State L.A. to assess the impact of Governor Schwarzenegger’s $386 million reduction to the California State University’s proposed 2008-2009 budget.

The forum focused particularly on the impacts upon Cal State L.A. and, by extension, the economy of the Los Angeles area and California.

The session, which was streamed live on the web, may be viewed at this site: www.calstatela.edu/eagleslive/

The cut would reduce Cal State L.A.’s 2008-2009 budget by approximately $12.6 million.

Several speakers (see full list below) called the proposed cut “pennywise and pound-foolish.” They cited the $4.41 revenue that is generated for the state from every $1 invested in the California State University system.

In an opening presentation, Cal State L.A. President James M. Rosser cited the roles the CSU and Cal State L.A. play in preparing individuals for critical fields in the economy. For example, the CSU graduates 87 percent of the state’s teachers, 64 percent of its nurses, 89 percent of its criminal justice professionals, and 87 percent of its social workers. All are fields in which Cal State L.A. plays a prominent role.

Rosser also cited the increasing demand for admission by qualified individuals seeking to enter the CSU and Cal State L.A. and the outreach efforts that have brought “thousands of underserved and first-generation students, providing a means for significant upward mobility.”

“Now is not the time for this state…to be turning its back on opportunity,” Rosser said.

Others spoke of the cut’s potential impacts on K-12 education, long-term economic health, public safety and other areas. News media covering the event included CNN, the Los Angeles Times, Chinese Daily News, Fox News (Channel 11), the University Times, and KFWB 980 radio.

Participants were encouraged to join the effort by filling out support/information cards. Similar forums have been held at nearly all of the 23 campuses of the CSU. A fact sheet and list of speakers follows. For further details, see these web sites:

www.calstate.edu/budgetcentral/

www.allianceforthecsu.org/

(See fact sheet appended below speakers list.) 

List of panelists

“The CSU is the Solution” forum on
Governor’s proposed budget
April 2, 2008, noon – 2 p.m.,
Golden Eagle Ballroom, Cal State L.A.

Herbert L. Carter

Herbert Carter is a trustee of the California State University. Formerly he served in executive leadership positions for CSU Dominguez Hills; United Way, Inc.; the Los Angeles Commission on Human Relations; and the CSU Chancellor’s Office.

Debra Farar

Debra Farar is a trustee of the California State University. After working as a teacher and educational consultant, she was a senior advisor to then-Lt. Gov. Gray Davis.  She continually advocates for post-secondary options for disadvantaged students.

Barbara Young

Barbara Young is a community relations veteran of the CSU Chancellor’s Office, an ordained minister and a motivational speaker.  She has been the force behind the success of the Super Sunday outreach programs to the African American communities in Northern and Southern California. 

Barry Gordon

A former (and the longest-serving) president of the Screen Actors Guild and former president of the CSULA Alumni Association, Barry Gordon is uniquely positioned to understand the impact of the CSU on the entertainment industry.

Yolie Flores Aguilar

Yolie Flores Aguilar is a board member of the Los Angeles Unified School District, representing a diverse community of 115,000 students at 116 schools. A national expert on – and advocate for – children’s health and education, she is CEO of the Children’s Planning Council Foundation.

James M. Rosser

President of California State University, Los Angeles since 1979, James M. Rosser has for decades championed access and diversity with excellence in higher education. His efforts to promote inclusion were recently honored by two national organizations.

Lillian Taiz

Lillian Taiz, a professor of history at Cal State L.A., is president of the California Faculty Association (CFA). As a product of the California’s community college, CSU, and UC systems, she considers herself a “poster child” for the promise of the California's Master Plan for Public Higher Education.

Kevin Baaske

Kevin Baaske, a professor of communication studies at Cal State L.A., is chair of the Academic Senate and is one of two Cal State L.A. representatives to the Academic Senate of the CSU.

Diana Balli

Diana Balli, administrative support coordinator for Cal State L.A.’s Department of History, is vice president and chief steward for the Los Angeles chapter of the California State University Employees Union.

Joel A. Francis

Joel A. Francis is president of Cal State L.A.’s Associated Students, Incorporated. He is also a statewide leader among the nearly 450,000 CSU students, serving as the California State Student Association’s vice-chair of External Affairs.

Gabriela Serrato

Gabriela Serrato, a Cal State L.A. student, is a member of the statewide Students for Quality Education. A senior from San Jose, Calif., she is double-majoring in psychology and Chicano studies.

Beatriz Encinas

Bea Encinas is the chief steward for Unit 4, which represents outreach advisors and other student-service professionals. She has more than 20 years experience working in academic outreach programs.

Rita Ledesma (moderator)

Rita Ledesma, professor of social work at Cal State L.A., is currently serving as president for Cal State L.A.’s chapter of the California Faculty Association.  

FACT SHEET:

The Governor’s proposed 2008-2009 budget and California State University, Los Angeles

Impact on Economy, Workforce

Cal State L.A.’s share of the $386 million Governor’s reduction: $12.6 million.

Every $1 invested in the CSU =  $4.41 in revenue to the state.

Cal State L.A.’s direct annual financial impact on regional economy:

● $300 million-plus - Spending from payroll, operations, capital construction, auxiliaries, student expenditures, etc.

          ● $600 million – resulting overall economic impact

          ● Represents the sustaining of 9,000 jobs in the region

CSU contributions to workforce in key industries (percent of degrees awarded in Calif.):

          Nursing                           64 %

          Business                         65 %

Education                        87 %

Criminal Justice               89 %

Social Workers                 87 %

Public Admin & Service    82 %

Engineers                        51 %

Among similar, peer institutions, Cal State L.A. is one of the most significant producers of health professionals, teachers and education administrators, criminal justice professionals, and public servants and administrators.

Impact on Access

Cal State L.A.’s access efforts have helped many of the state’s critical professions become more diverse, more closely representative of the populations they serve.

Demand for access to Cal State L.A. is rising significantly across the board – for spring, summer and fall; among freshmen, transfers and graduate students; in five of the University’s six colleges.

Applications from potential first-time freshmen (as of March 21 of each year) are up 12 percent from Fall 2007 to Fall 2008, up to roughly 22,000.

Applications from transfer students are up 4 percent compared to Fall 2007.

Graduate student applications are up 24 percent, with 2,543 applications, almost 500 more than last year. Cal State L.A. maintains the second largest graduate program in the CSU.

The University’s college with the most applications is the College of Health and Human Services, which encompasses vital fields for California, including nursing and criminal justice.

Cal State L.A. has been preparing to accommodate the subsequent increase in admissions that would follow these applications. As demand is rising, the budget cuts would lead to denying access to many qualified students.

Cal State L.A. is a university of transformation, known for offering significant upward mobility for underserved students and first-generation students.

Impact on diversity/outreach

Cal State L.A. has earned a national reputation for transforming the lives of underserved communities through aggressive outreach and educational preparedness programs that support access, diversity and excellence.

From Cal State L.A.’s enrollment demographics:

Latino                    51.5%

Asian American      23.1%

White                    15.3 %

African American     9.9 %

Recently the university and its president, James M. Rosser, have been honored by national organizations for building diversity with excellence in higher education. Repeatedly, at the request of national organizations, Cal State L.A. has shared with others in academia the strategies and programs behind its success.

From 1975 to 1999, 184 African Americans with baccalaureate degrees from Cal State L.A. earned Ph.D.s, making Cal State L.A. the top undergraduate origin of African Americans with doctorates west of the Mississippi River. 

From 1995 to 2004, 98 graduates from Cal State L.A. earned their doctoral degrees. Of them, 40 were either African American or Latino. This rate of under-represented diversity among alumni with PhDs – about 41 percent – was almost double that of any of the other 22 campuses of the California State University system.