From the Dean's Office - February Newsletter

February 2018

We are happy to have our students back on campus for our winter quarter – they bring the campus to life and continue to remind us of how important our work at CSUSB Palm Desert Campus is every day!

We are pleased to tell you that we have a 98.7% retention rate of our freshman class from fall 2017 to winter 2018, and students enrolled in 17 units – up three from last year. This is very good news because it tells us the students are taking enough classes to graduate in four years and join our workforce. The CSU System initiated a four-year graduation initiative that has a goal of a 30% four-year graduation rate for 2021 freshmen. What many in our community don’t realize is that the nationwide average is that it takes nearly six years to earn an undergraduate degree, and we in the CSU’s are committed to beating that average. The PDC is projecting a 24% four-year graduation rate for our 2014 freshman cohort, so we are well on our way to meeting – and surpassing – the Chancellor’s goal!

Our Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) program continues to flourish with increases in participation in classes and the overall membership is up 15% over last year. Our OLLI director, Sue Anderson, and OLLI volunteers have worked hard to make the Osher Institute experience special. They now offer routine field excursions in California and our first out-of-state trip to New York has a waiting list! In addition, an Adriatic Cruise scheduled for 2019 is well on its way to being sold out. With more than 970 enrollments in courses, the OLLI program is a large part of our campus community. We love our OLLI members who are learning for the joy of it every day!

Our students are more engaged in campus activities than ever before with the addition of new clubs in the areas of dance, golf, photography and a new online radio station. Our Student Ambassadors program has grown to 70 members serving as campus hosts and tour guides. We are even starting a steel drum band – thanks to Ray Lindsey who is recruiting our students and teaching them to play the steel drums! We know that student engagement in campus activities increases persistence, and this contributes to us reaching our four-year graduation rate goals.

We are also pleased to announce that the search for the director of our new hospitality management program is well underway with application screening beginning on February 2. The pool of applicants is very impressive and we are very happy that Kelly Steward, the general manager of the Ritz Carlton Rancho Mirage, is serving on the search committee to represent the interests of our local $6 billion industry in this critical recruitment. It is important to us that the hospitality industry and the Greater Palm Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau are supporting our new program and assisting us in many ways in getting the program running. Most notably, they recently conducted an economic impact study that shows the hospitality management concentration in business will contribute $26.6 million in just the first five years of the program, with the impact ballooning over time with more trained graduates emerging to serve this vital industry.

As we all enjoy “high season” in our desert communities, there are plenty of opportunities to be involved with the PDC. Our Monday evening Lessons from Leaders class is bringing national leaders in business, public service and hospitality to speak about their experiences and these classes are open to the public. Our monthly Cal State University Associates “Groundbreaking” series got underway this month with the largest event in several years – “Weed 101” captured the changing landscape of legal marijuana in our communities. Important event dates to put on your calendar include:

February 25 - the third annual “Leap into Polo” event with our Emeriti Society;
April 11 - we will be hosting the “Keeping Our Brightest Stars” University Legacy Scholarship Dinner at the striking new Kimpton Rowan Hotel in downtown Palm Springs; and
April 23 - our 19^th Annual Golf Classic at Stone Eagle Golf Club

In addition, we have a full schedule of events we’re calling our “Rat Pack Celebration” throughout the month of March, including shows, special tours and great films of the group that called our Valley their home. You can learn more about these events on our theater website . We hope you will support your four-year public university and attend these events – better yet, bring a friend with you!

Sharon Brown-Welty, Ed.D.

Dean, CSUSB Palm Desert Campus

Upcoming Events

Support the campus on Saturday, Feb. 17, while enjoying a concert, wine and appetizers at the Gardens on El Paseo!

Fifth annual art reception to raise funds for student scholarships

Artist and Cal State San Bernardino alumna Jean Vezzalini will host a reception on Tuesday, Feb. 20, from 5:30-7:30 p.m., to showcase her paintings in the lobby of the Indian Wells Theater, with all proceeds from the exhibition to be donated for student scholarships.

Please RSVP to Mike Singer

Lessons from Leaders

Join us for our Lessons from Leaders class this quarter where students hear the career and life stories of leaders in business, government and the nonprofit sector.

The class provides our largely first-generation college enrolled students with a great vision of all that is possible to them with their degrees in-hand.

The class is open to the community and meets each Monday at 4 p.m. in our Indian Wells Theater. An RSVP is not required.

Upcoming speakers include:

Carl Wescott , entrepreneur and investor, founder of Westcott Group (Feb. 5)

JoAnn Wellner , philanthropist, former in-house counsel for TIAA-CREF (Feb. 12)

Diane Vines , psychiatric nurse specialist, former White House Fellow and director, former vice chancellor, University of Oregon system (Feb. 19)

Bridget Bilinski , Marriott International Area Vice President (Feb. 26)

Ann Rhoades , former national vice president for Southwest Airlines and founder/CEO of national human resources consulting firm, PeopleInk (March 5)

Eddy Hartenstein , founder DirectTV and former publisher and CEO of the Los Angeles Times (March 12)

Al Annexstad , chairman emeritus of Federated Insurance Companies and founder of the Annexstad Family Foundation and national Leaders for Tomorrow college scholarship program (March 19)