| 
|
| |
| |||
| 
| ||
|
CONTACT:
| Cal State L.A. President Los Angeles, CA  Cal State L.A. President James M. Rosser was recently presented the degree of Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale at the universityÂs commencement ceremony. He received SIUÂs highest alumni honor, the Distinguished Alumni Award, in 1999, as well as the universityÂs Alumni Achievement Award from the College of Education in 1986. Born and raised in East St. Louis, Illinois, President Rosser was an honor student at SIU and a member of the Saluki basketball team for two years. He graduated at the top of his senior class in 1962 with a B.A. in microbiology. He went on to earn his M.A. in 1963 and Ph.D. in health education in 1969. Rosser served as both an administrator and faculty member at SIU, and was the founder and first director of SIUCÂs Black American Studies program. He served as special assistant to SIU Chancellor Robert W. MacVicar in 1970. Following that, he was appointed senior associate vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Kansas and, in 1974, vice chancellor for the State of New Jersey Department of Higher Education. Introduced by SIU Dean of the College of Education and Human Services Keith Hillkirk, Rosser was lauded for his lifelong commitment to excellence in education. The SIU honor noted that, at the time of his 1979 appointment as president of Cal State L.A., he was the second African American and the youngest to head a CSU campus. He is now the longest-serving African American president at a public university. California State University, Los Angeles, is a comprehensive university at the heart of a major metropolitan city. The 175-acre hilltop campus is located five miles east of Los Angeles civic and cultural center. Since 1947, Cal State L.A. has been a leader in providing quality higher education. Today, the campus comprises a faculty of internationally-recognized scholars and artists, and more than 21,000 students with a wide variety of interests, ages and backgrounds that reflect the cityÂs dynamic mix of populations.
# # # |