Spring Semester Campus Update

January 15, 2019

Dear Faculty and Staff:

Coming on the heels of a challenging conclusion to the fall semester, I hope that the winter break provided you the opportunity to refresh and recharge. As we look forward to welcoming our students back to campus next week, I want to update you on several important topics.

I am pleased to share that Governor Newsom's 2019-20 budget proposal would add $300 million in ongoing additional funding for the CSU - benefitting students and campuses across the state. I appreciate that the governor is publicly and strongly demonstrating his commitment to the power of public higher education. (Please click here for a message on the budget from CSU Chancellor Timothy P. White.)

While the $300 million in new recurring funds, if passed by the Legislature, covers the CSU's current contractual requirements (i.e., compensation) and mandatory expenses, there remains additional unfunded priorities that we will be addressing through our advocacy efforts in the coming months. I ask you to share the life-changing impact a CSUN education has on individuals and our state. At the campus level, we soon will be initiating the 2019-20 budget process with the University Planning and Budgeting Group (UPBG) and addressing specific funding priorities and challenges for our campus for both the 2018-19 and 2019-20 fiscal years.

I also want to provide an update on the status of the investigation into the threats against our campus that we faced in December. Following a thorough review, CSUN Police and our law enforcement partners believe that the intent of the person or persons responsible was to disrupt the administration of final exams. However, to safeguard the well-being of the CSUN community, we will always treat such threats with the utmost seriousness, as was done in December. CSUN Police continue their investigation, and I ask anyone with information on the threats to contact CSUN's Department of Police Services. As a university, we are steadfast against the hate and cowardice expressed in these threats and messages. We stand united against words or acts of hatred against our African American and Jewish communities or any others. Across campus, we will be looking both at opportunities to bring the community together and also how we can best address such challenging circumstances in the future, ensuring safety for all.

Every semester is a new opportunity to return to our collective work and studies with a renewed vigor. I am continually energized by the resilience and excellence I see across the university. This year not only marks our 60^th anniversary, but also the 25^th anniversary of the Northridge Earthquake. I honor those faculty, staff and alumni who persevered through that challenging period in our history to build a university that has never been stronger or more impactful.

Finally, this week we are witness to the first LAUSD strike since 1989. It is my sincere hope that teachers and the district can find an equitable solution to negotiations and get back to their important work educating our youth. In the meantime, I ask supervisors at CSUN to provide flexibility to parents of LAUSD students. Should the strike extend into next week, I also ask our faculty to show similar flexibility to students who are also parents of LAUSD students.

Thank you for all you do for student success. I wish you a very successful spring semester.

Sincerely,

Dianne F. Harrison, Ph.D.
President