President Highlights Growth at Report to the Community

President Highlights Growth at Report to the Community

By Emmi van Zoest

When Cal State San Marcos was founded 35 years ago, about 450 students were enrolled. This year, the university is at its highest enrollment in history, with nearly 17,000 students.

CSUSM President Ellen Neufeldt opened her annual Report to the Community speech on Sept. 19 by recounting this impressive growth. She spoke alongside other notable community figures and Associated Students, Inc., president Octavio Martinez in front of nearly 400 guests at The Sports Center. Attendees included various business, education, government and nonprofit leaders, all of whom have helped support CSUSM in different ways.

Not only is this year the 35th anniversary of the university, but it's also Neufeldt's fifth anniversary as president.

Neufeldt discussed how much the CSUSM community has grown - not just in enrollment numbers, but also physically. North City, located a short walk from campus, has expanded over the years. The development is home to student housing, restaurants and other businesses for students and others to visit and enjoy. Also close to campus are Palomar Health, Scripps and Kaiser Permanente. North City sponsored and helped host Report to the Community.

As Neufeldt shared, CSUSM ranks among the top 1% of universities nationally in the social mobility of its graduates, according to the Social Mobility Index by CollegeNET. It also ranked as a Tier 1 school for social mobility in the Economic Mobility Index by the think tank Third Wayearlier this month.

"Our shared vision of CSUSM has been clear from the very beginning: ensuring that any student who dreams of earning a college degree has that opportunity," Neufeldt said.

Added Martinez, the ASI president: "Social mobility is the empowerment to overcome historical obstacles, which then enables lifelong success."

Neufeldt highlighted a few alumni who have stood out by doing amazing things recently. Among them are Alec Frank, Yuri Rodea, and Jeremy and Tracy Ford, a married couple who founded a virtual reality company called Lightning Tours.

Neufeldt talked about the positive effects of the $10 million gift that CSUSM received from the Price Philanthropies Foundationthis spring. Using this donation, the university launched a new accelerated bachelor's degree program to address the region's behavioral health needs. Earlier this month, Neufeldt was welcomed by Rancho Buena Vista High School, which is piloting the dual enrollment program. Next month, CSUSM will host a summit with local school districts to discuss other potential in-demand career pathways for the dual-enrollment, three-year degree format.

Neufeldt also shared the news that CSUSM is a finalist for the Seal of Excelencia, a designation awarded to institutions that meet rigorous standards in supporting Latinx student success. Neufeldt will travel to Washington, D.C., next week to learn if the university has been awarded the seal.

CSUSM is coming off a record-breaking fundraising performance, totaling $26.6 million in the 2023-24 fiscal year. Included in that amount are the two largest philanthropic gifts in university history, adding up to $20 million. The gifts are having a direct, positive impact on the university and community, with plans for CSUSM's biggest fundraising campaign in progress.

"The deep-rooted belief that we are stronger together is a call to action, a challenge for all of us to push further and reach higher," Neufeldt said. "I am excited to see what this year and the next years will bring as we continue to break boundaries and uphold our promise of transforming lives through education."

Other highlights from Neufeldt's Report to the Community speech included:

• Thanks to a recent partnership between CSUSM and Palomar College, nursing students can enroll in a fast-track program in which they receive both an associate and bachelor's degree in nursing during one seamless three-year period.
• Supervisor Chuck Washington and the County of Riverside recently gave CSUSM $5.5 million to expand the software engineering, early childhood education, business hospitality and nursing programs at Mt. San Jacinto College's Temecula Valley campus.
• This fall, CSUSM launched its first cohort of computer engineers and received the news of being accredited by ABET, a worldwide agency.
• CSUSM is in the process of creating an industrial and systems engineering degree, which will be the first bachelor's degree of its kind in San Diego County.
• CSUSM is working to raise private and government support for its future Integrated Science and Engineering building. U.S. Rep. Scott Peters donated $1.8 million to help equip the facility.
• Ranjeeta Basu, a CSUSM economics professor and the faculty director for the Center for Contemplative Practices, is examining how cultivating compassion through mindfulness can address the global care crisis.
• Richard Armenta, an associate professor of kinesiology, is leading a $1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to encourage American Indian youth to become thoughtful science scholars.

The emcee of Report to the Community was Shelia Brown, an executive for Palomar Health and chair of CSUSM's University Council. Chris Devers of the Pauma Band of Luiseño Indians led the land acknowledgement.

Darren Levitt, vice president of Sea Breeze Properties, the developer of North City, presented the CSUSM Community Partner of the Year Award to Devers and TrueCare. The award honors community partners who have engaged with CSUSM over many years in ways that have supported student success, community growth and development, with a focus on justice and inclusion.

Bret Schanzenbach, the 2023 recipient of the Fran Aleshire Leadership Award, presented this year's award to Cathy Baur, the recently retired president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of San Marcos and CSUSM's former vice president of University Advancement. This award is presented to those who stand out in their leadership skills, focusing on results-oriented action and showing selfless community service.