With the summer now winding down and all of us preparing for the new academic year, I am pleased to welcome all of you back for the fall semester. I hope the summer was restful and relaxing, and gave each of you an opportunity to renew yourselves for another year ahead.
I appreciate the warm welcome that has been extended to me since my arrival here. The summer months have given me an opportunity to talk with many of you and to begin to make friends within the surrounding community. Those encounters have affirmed my observation that CSUN is a dynamic and productive institution, and the faculty, staff, students and alumni of CSUN make an incomparable contribution to the well-being of the San Fernando Valley and beyond. This view was validated by the maximum 10-year reaccreditation endorsement that the university received from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges last month. We should all take great pride in this accomplishment and in the very positive comments we received from the WASC evaluation team that visited here in April.
As you may know, to celebrate the beginning of the new academic year and to welcome everyone back from summer vacation, I have invited the campus community to attend the first of what I expect will become a campus tradition:
President's Annual Address
Friday, August 25, 9 - 10 a.m.
Northridge Center, University Student Union
to be immediately followed by a
Welcome Back Coffee
10 a.m. - 12 noon
Sierra Quad
I will be joined at this event by Faculty President Diane Schwartz and Associated Students President Robert Hanff (or a designee). As this is my first such address to the university, I plan to discuss my vision and goals for CSUN in the coming year and into the future. I also will be pleased to respond to your questions.
I hope to see all of you at the address and to meet you at the Welcome Back Coffee.
New Upper Division G.E. Courses On-Line
In acknowledgment of the changing needs of our student population and the growing importance of the Internet to higher education, I am pleased to announce that the university will offer nine upper division general education courses entirely on-line this fall.
While the classes are open to all CSUN students through TTR, and to eligible transfer students and through the Open University program, the courses are particularly aimed at adults who work full time or have trouble attending on-campus classes because of their work schedules or long commutes.
The available on-line courses - which include offerings from the departments of Art, Communicative Disorders, Communication Studies, English, Health Sciences, Religious Studies and Theatre - represent CSUN's commitment to applying the Internet and cutting-edge technologies to achieve its mission. We are proud to be offering the classes and I commend the departments and faculty for their work in providing this opportunity to students.
Campus Achievements
- Chancellor Charles B. Reed has approved Cal State Northridge's proposed B.S. degree program with a major in Computer Engineering and our B.A. degree program with a major in Women's Studies.
In his approvals for both programs, Chancellor Reed noted that the university provided information that demonstrated our ability to provide the faculty, physical facilities and library holdings necessary to establish and sustain these new degrees.
My congratulations to Academic Affairs and to the faculty, staff and students in both areas for your successful presentation of these programs.
- My congratulations to Dr. Jack Alanen, who has been appointed the new associate dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science.
Dr. Alanen begins his appointment with extensive experience at CSUN - he has been a part time lecturer in the Computer Science Department since 1985 and has served as chair of the department. Prior to accepting this new assignment, Dr. Alanen was a senior scientist at Litton Systems, Inc., and possesses extensive "real-world" experience that will benefit the college. I am delighted to welcome Dr. Alanen to the college and the university.
- I also would like to congratulate the team of CSUN student animators who won a Best Animation Award for their animated public service announcement, "Eco Monkey."The award was given at the World Animation Celebration held at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood on June 4, as part of a one-day marathon competition during the six-day conference.
The students - Leila Tilgman, Steven Acevedo, Philip Ortiz, Karla Ventocilla, Francesco Montano, José Sosa, Jorge Dagang, Rosaria Canale and Ramael Slater - competed against more than 550 students from around the country, including two other CSUN teams. The project will be shown in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the U.S.
Congratulations to these students and the faculty in the Art Department and its animation program, particularly Chair Joe S. Lewis and Professor Mary Ann Trujillo, for this recognition.
Jolene Koester
President