If the first 50 years are any indication, California State University, Stanislaus indeed has much to celebrate in 2010 on the way to future triumphs. 

CSU Stanislaus is marking its 50th year as the home of the Warriors, commemorating a rich tradition of academic excellence and providing opportunities to share dreams about the great things still to come.

CSU Stanislaus President Hamid Shirvani is encouraging everyone to join in the festivities. A series of special programs has been scheduled for the week of September 14, named Founders Week to mark the first classes held in 1960.  The week of activities will cap three years of celebrations that started in 2007 to mark the University’s 1957 founding.

“We welcome alumni and former faculty and staff to visit CSU Stanislaus and help us celebrate the University’s history along with our present-day reputation as an outstanding university providing a high measure of academic excellence,” Shirvani said.

CSU Stanislaus has developed into a University that is immersed in learning, a nationally accredited higher education institution known for producing the workforce of the future and generating dollars in the regional economy. It is a university with a steadily growing reputation whose name on a diploma is but an introduction to the knowledge, skills, and character its graduates attain.

Whether helping educate nearly 50,000 graduates, stimulating the Central Valley’s economy, adding to campus facilities, or being named one of the “Best 373 Colleges” in the nation by The Princeton Review for the fourth consecutive year, CSU Stanislaus has traveled a unique path to success since its opening day on Sept. 19, 1960 at the Stanislaus County Fairgrounds. The late California Governor Edmund Brown noted at the opening ceremonies that it was the first time a state college had started out with trees and lawns before it had a permanent building.

Fifty years after its modest startup at the Fairgrounds, CSU Stanislaus has lived up to its expectations as a university campus. It boasts hallowed halls of education, wonderful traditions, and is a happening place where graduates are proud to say they earned a degree and current students are receiving top-quality educational experiences.

“California State University, Stanislaus takes great pride in its rich history and in providing thousands of students with degrees that have helped them realize the American dream,” Shirvani said.  “CSU Stanislaus and its students are an important part of the state's promise for the future and commitment to higher education in the Central Valley. Over the next 50 years, the University will continue to develop as one of the finest institutions of higher learning in the United States.”

 
Since starting out with only a handful of academic programs in 1960, CSU Stanislaus now offers 40 undergraduate programs, 24 master’s programs, five graduate certificate programs, seven school credential programs, and a doctorate of education added in 2008.

Lola Johnson, acknowledged as one of the University’s most popular and beloved professors who was a member of the founding faculty at the Fairgrounds and taught at CSU Stanislaus for 47 years, cherishes her experiences of the early years. After sharing buildings at the Fairgrounds with turkey shows, Johnson liked the way the new campus that debuted in 1965 developed into an ideal place for learning with its beautiful, park-like setting.

“We thought that it would take forever for it to become a real university campus at the time, with the tiny new trees and wide open spaces everywhere,” Johnson said. “I thought I’d never live to see the trees grow up, but it has turned into a gorgeous campus that is now a great source of pride.”

Shaping the next 50 years

Enthusiasm about Warrior tradition is high in the Office of Alumni Affairs, where staff is doubling its efforts during the 50th celebrations to reach out to graduates through a variety of special programs while using its e-newsletter “Stanbyme” to keep alumni in touch with CSU Stanislaus and its accomplishments, events, and traditions.

“Our 50th Anniversary is a time to celebrate the history of CSU Stanislaus and especially the University's contribution to the people of the Central Valley,” said Jacob McDougal, ’04 BA Communication Studies.  “When you examine the hopes and dreams of the founders of CSU Stanislaus, and see how far the institution has come in the last 50 years, as an alumnus, you cannot help but be excited about the next 50 years.”

CSU Stanislaus celebrates and respects its history, vision, and mission while resiliently advancing through a higher education climate that presents new challenges and even greater opportunities in the coming decades. Typewriters and large computers are only a memory of the University’s pioneer years as it focuses on the use of technology to improve and evolve the education its students receive in the coming decades.

 “Given the budgetary environment facing the CSU and universities nationwide, and the demands of society and students, it is imperative that CSU Stanislaus become more entrepreneurial and innovative in all aspects of operations but especially regarding academic affairs,” said Dr. James Strong, Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs. “Academic programs must innovate, become more efficient and responsive to societal expectations, and better communicate to stakeholders how academe meets their needs and provides the support necessary from stakeholders.”

President Shirvani agreed.  “Due to the economic downturn, our University faces a variety of challenges as it seeks to provide a well-rounded education for students while continuing to maintain high academic standards, but we remain committed to that mission. We must sustain the best parts of our past, but also boldly reshape and reinvigorate our institutions for the future. Faculty, staff, students, and administrators must continue to work together to support that success.

Self-support programs offered through Extended Education and increased implementation of online education have been developed through innovation and improved resource management. As a shining example, Strong cites the College of Business Administration's plan to offer a completely online Master of Business Administration program that is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). The College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Nursing program in the College of Human and Health Sciences are also striving to offer more online programs.

“Technology is just something you have to accept,” said Mark Lazari, a Chemistry honors student who graduated from CSU Stanislaus in the spring, earning the prestigious Metzger/Geiger Award at Commencement. “It’s going to be a part of your future.”

With social media like Facebook and Twitter adding to other evolving technologies in higher education — such as Blackboard, the University’s Web-based, learning management system that’s been allowing students to get notes, check grades, and discuss topics with their classmates and teachers since 2000 — students are finding that connecting with classmates and professors can be as easy online as it is in person.

“Online learning has been a blessing for me because it has made it possible to continue with my education and reach my goal of achieving a college degree,” student Lucia Munoz said. “I have learned just as much and, at times, more online than in the traditional classroom.”

Expansion of Offerings and Partnerships

Recent University degree program additions such as the Master of Science in Nursing (2009), the Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (2008), the Master of Science in Genetic Counseling (2008), and the Executive Master of Business Administration (2007) display the University’s desire to meet the evolving needs of students and employers. More of the same is expected in the future, with possible program additions stemming from emerging fields such as biotechnology, software engineering, sustainability, health care, and new media.

“As a CSU campus, one of our primary missions is to educate students to meet the demands of the workforce,” said Shirvani.  “Fulfilling that mission requires us to constantly review our program offerings and evaluate them against emerging fields and industry needs.  Then, we must work together as a campus community to develop new programs in line with those needs.”

Private support is becoming the backbone of financial aid and other resources at CSU Stanislaus as state budget deficits continue.

Making sure students have the financial support and the resources they need to succeed is an important part of the University’s future. That need continues to mount, with 72 percent of undergraduates receiving need-based aid. Since distributing an estimated $27,000 in financial aid that first year at the Fairgrounds 50 years ago, CSU Stanislaus has dramatically expanded its financial assistance programs to $42 million per year.

More corporate-academic sponsorships are also being established to bolster academic programs. Recent examples of contributions that are making a difference include a $500,000 partnership with Foster Farms in the creation of the Foster Farms Endowed Chair in Business Economics and a $270,000 gift from Kaiser Permanente to benefit the University’s Nursing Program.

Buildings like the state-of-the-art Nora and Hashem Naraghi Hall of Science stand as a legacy to how private donors help provide the resources that make CSU Stanislaus an outstanding university that attracts top students.

“With more and more organizations asking for money, and getting more sophisticated at asking for it, it will continue to get tougher to raise money,” said Matt Swanson, CSU Stanislaus Foundation President. “But we can’t stop pushing forward; we have to keep going.”

Economic impact

CSU Stanislaus continues to have a profound impact on the San Joaquin Valley region. Among the findings in a recently completed CSU Chancellor’s Office report: CSU Stanislaus generates a total impact of $169 million on the regional economy, sustains more than 2,000 jobs as one of the region’s largest employers, and generates $8 million in local tax revenue annually. The biggest eye opener was the finding that CSU Stanislaus alumni generate earnings of $677 million that is attributable to their degrees, which creates an additional $1 billion of industry activity throughout the state.

More than $200 million has been invested in CSU Stanislaus buildings, facilities, and infrastructure since the campus made its 1965 debut and accepted its first freshman students in just two main buildings in what were then the northern outreaches of the Turlock countryside.

With the region continuing to grow and the demand continuing for college graduates needed to attract business and industry jobs to the area, CSU Stanislaus plays a substantial role in the effort to revitalize the regional economy. Current enrollment of more than 8,500, in contrast to the 756 who signed up for classes 50 years ago, is projected to expand in the next 17 years. The University’s eventual capacity enrollment of 12,000 students is projected to arrive by 2027, according to the CSU Stanislaus Master Plan updated in 2009.

Preparations for that growth are expected to have an immediate economic impact in 2011 with the startup of an $18 million renovation project on the University’s first science building. Projected to create 200 construction-related jobs, it is one of only six CSU lease-revenue bond projects included in the state budget this year. The building will provide a home for departments from the University’s College of Human & Health Sciences, including classrooms, laboratories, and offices.

“This project is critical to meeting the health care needs of the region,” said Shirvani, who was present for the key legislative vote in the Senate subcommittee. “I am so pleased that the Legislature has recognized its importance and the importance of investing in higher education in order to prepare students for the workforce and boost California’s economy.”

CSU Stanislaus students joined in the ongoing campaign to bring the campus infrastructure to a new level in 2006 when they overwhelmingly voted to support a fee increase that funded the Student Recreation Complex at the corner of Geer Road and Christoffersen Parkway. Featuring a lighted stadium, fitness center, and lighted intramural field, the facility has provided students with a valuable resource and helped bring University athletics to a new level as the site of major regional and national sports events.

The future is here

Through implementation of strategic change stemming from innovative shifts in approaches to the challenges of the 21st century, CSU Stanislaus is poised to offer students and the region the equivalent of an economic and academic fortune as a substantial dividend from the starting investment at the fairgrounds. The only question is how many times over that payoff will be as the University steers on the continued academic excellence path over the next 50 years enroute to its 100th anniversary in 2060.

Everyone is invited to join in the festivities to commemorate the University’s first 50 years of academic excellence during the first annual September 14-18 Founders Week Celebration on the CSU Stanislaus campus. The festivities will include music and entertainment, food and refreshments, campus tours, a family fun zone, merchant fair, soccer game, and much more. For more information, watch for updates on the CSU Stanislaus 50th Anniversary Web site at http://www.csustan.edu/50th/.