President presents Fall Address

By Matthew Gonzalez EXECUTIVE EDITOR

San Jose State President Cynthia Teniente-Matson and other San Jose State leaders outlined initiatives and highlighted recent success the university has seen in the Fall 2023 welcome address on Thursday afternoon in the Student Union ballrooms.

Sarab Multani, Associated Students president and junior public health student, said he has seen the university’s dedication in sustaining its Transformation 2030 efforts.

Transformation 2030 is a roadmap created by the university detailing its future objectives such as enhancing fundraising efforts and making SJSU’s campus more sustainable, according to the initiative’s strategic plan.

“When I first got here two years ago, I’ll be honest I didn’t know which direction our campus was going,” Multani said. “But after two years of being here, and witnessing how much our university has committed to Transformation 2030, I know we are exactly where we need to be.”

Political science professor and Vice Chair of the Academic Senate, Karthika Sasikumar introduced Teniente-Matson and said she believes under her administration pressing budget issues will be resolved.

“I hope that under her [Teniente-Matson’s] leadership, we will weather the current concerns about budgets and be able to focus on our core mission, teaching and learning,” Sasikumar said.

Teniente-Matson also unveiled SJSU’s 202324 priorities and broke down recent progress made in fulfilling each of these concerns.

Holistic student success success

Teniente-Matson used increasing graduation rates as one way to measure holistic student success.

She revisited statistics from 2010, in which SJSU’s four-year graduation rate was 11%, leaping to 37% in 2018, with six-year graduation rates currently at 70%.

She also highlighted the importance of meeting students’ basic needs of health and well-being, as the university will receive $2.5 million in “targeted resources” from the state.

“These resources will enhance or provide our students greater awareness of services for basic needs with more promotional events and communications [and] support for those struggling with mental health concerns with two new counselors and postdoc residents, and stable funding for student housing assistance,” she said.

Budget and Finance

Teniente-Matson said she wouldn’t be addressing the SJSU community completely without mentioning budget challenges the school is facing.

She said the campus budget largely reflects the statewide financial picture for higher education and also said while SJSU is a strong university, finding ways to construct a transparent and economically-sustainable funding plan is paramount.

Teniente-Matson said shortly after her arrival at SJSU, she asked both the President’s Cabinet and Budget Advisory Committee to expedite the closing of the $37 million fiscal gap at the beginning of the 2022-2023 fiscal year.

“Through their [the President’s Cabinet and

Budget Advisory Committee] collective work, that gap has been reduced from $37 million to $14.8 million for this fiscal year,” Teniente-Matson said. She also said a budget summit will be held on Sept. 14 to further the dialogue regarding budget issues.

Research and Innovation

Teniente-Matson introduced research and innovation as a key component to SJSU’s future success and said the university aims to be a place where students can bolster their findings.

“We strive to become an R2 research-active institution,” she said. “A place focused on student-engaged research and applied undergraduate and graduate training opportunities.”

An R-2 research designation is a part of a research ranking system, according to a University of Northern Florida webpage.

A designation like this could potentially help the university establish itself in the research community.

She also said funding from various members of the U.S. Congress, such as

Zoe Lofgren, Anna Eshoo and Jimmy Panetta, was and continues to be integral for the success of SJSU students.

“These investments in experiential learning have paid off with award winning student projects,”

Teniente-Matson said.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Efforts to increase inclusivity will be led by the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ODEI), however SJSU has not hired a new Chief Diversity Officer.

Teniente-Matson said the search for this position is ongoing, but someone should be chosen by next month.

She said one way the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is looking to broaden this notion of diversity and inclusion is by keeping open communication with the greater SJSU community.

“Our commitment to inclusive excellence is led by the great team in the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion,” TenienteMatson said. “They continue to consult with faculty, staff and students on a variety of programs and partnerships with the colleges, committees and divisions to continue the work fulfilling anti-racism plans, goals and activities.”

Community

Collaboration

Teniente-Matson said the recent addition of the Spartan Athletic Center, is one example of “Spartan optimism” and is an example of successful collaboration.

The Spartan Athletic Center is a two-story, 55,000-square foot building that will provide amenities for all 22 SJSU athletics teams, according to the project’s webpage.

Teniente-Matson also said libraries are the “beacon of knowledge” and that the relationship between SJSU and San Jose is exemplified in the construction of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Library.

“I have long admired the partnership between San Jose State and the city of San Jose in collaboration that produced the first library in the U.S. to integrate a major university with a public library system,” she said.