SDSU President

Leadership Starts Here

Elliot Hirshman — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:51:38 +0000

At San Diego State, Leadership Starts Here is a bold statement of the university’s ethos. It is a promise fulfilled by the many contributions of our alumni, faculty, staff, community partners and students.

This past Saturday, I attended our Student Affairs conference on leadership and I want to comment briefly on the leadership our students are demonstrating. Every day, I see evidence of SDSU students taking leadership roles on campus and in the community. They face challenges. They raise questions and issues. They overcome adversity. They envision and embrace a brighter future

Think about what our young people have seen in their short lives—an attack on their country on Sept. 11, 2001; two wars; environmental threats to the earth they will inherit; and the most significant and prolonged economic challenges in almost a century.

Our students could have become discouraged or fearful in the face of these events. Instead, they have become leaders. They have served our nation, launched environmental initiatives, raised fundamental questions about our societal practices and values, supported our community and demonstrated the entrepreneurial energy that is the key to rebuilding our economy.

Leadership Starts Here!

Remembering the Past: The CSU Nisei Diploma Project

Elliot Hirshman — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:11:27 +0000

In 1942, Executive Order 9066 authorized the internment of more than 120,000 Japanese Americans. Families lost their homes and professional lives. More than 250 students in the California State University system – many at San Diego State University – lost their educational opportunity to earn a college degree.

We cannot, as a country, ever fully right these wrongs, but we can recognize the wrongs that were committed. One way we do this is by honoring those who were wronged. In 2010, SDSU presented approximately 45 of our former interned students (or their descendants) honorary degrees. While these degrees do not replace the lost years, they do signify our communal responsibility for Executive Order 9066.

Since 2010, the CSU has been collecting video stories of the honorees. This week, we honored those who were interned by listening to their personal stories. In doing so, we attempt to move forward as one community, united by our common humanity.

Read more about the event and watch the CSU Nisei Diploma Project: San Diego State University documentary on the SDSU website.

Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Elliot Hirshman — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:52:13 +0000

During the past week, we honored the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King. At the Educator’s Breakfast, our 32^nd annual parade, the All-People’s breakfast and San Diego State’s annual tribute to Dr. King, we remembered how Dr. King changed our country and our lives. We considered the role that his philosophy of non-violence played, and continues to play, in creating social change. We reflected on his practice of community organizing and its continuing influence on our democratic process. Most of all, we recognized that while we have made substantial progress, we have much work to do and that, above all else, this must be the year in which we act to realize Dr. King’s ideals.

Read more about the campus Martin Luther King, Jr. tribute here.

Super Sundays

Elliot Hirshman — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 03:50:23 +0000

I recently had the pleasure of participating in my first Super Sunday events at Bayview Baptist Church and St. Stephens Church of God in Christ. For those of you unfamiliar with Super Sunday, it is a University-wide recruitment event that aims to enroll more African-American students. My experience was exhilarating.

Both congregations are extraordinary, filled with love, faith and pride. Further, each has a deep connection to San Diego State University with many church members who are SDSU alumni and many more who have connections to the university through friends and family.

The members of Bayview Baptist and St. Stephens and their esteemed leaders, Pastor Winters and Bishop McKinney, respectively, recognize the fundamental value of education and they are committed to a partnership in which we affirm the values of excellence and access for local area students.

I left each church excited about our prospects to enroll, retain and graduate more African-American students from our local community. I know that, working in partnership, we will support and advance our students, our community and our society.

On the Road with Aztec Football

Elliot Hirshman — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 21:40:06 +0000

I just returned from two days in Ann Arbor, Michigan with our football team. While there are significant issues and challenges with college football, our time in Michigan illustrates just how much is right with college football today.

While much of the pre-game media attention was focused on whether or not we could beat a “big time” program, I saw a very different perspective in Ann Arbor. Our hosts were gracious and welcoming. They even played our fight song – a tradition we should adopt for visiting teams. I met alumni who had traveled from all over the country to support our football team and have a deep appreciation for the education they received at San Diego State. I spoke with parents of our players who, rather than emphasizing a future in the NFL, are focused on their children’s academic and professional development. I heard former NFL player and Aztec alumnus Kyle Turley play a pretty mean guitar at our pre-game event.

Most importantly, I saw a game in which, despite extraordinary adversity, our players fought on every play and comported themselves with sportsmanship and dignity. Likewise our 1,000 fans cheered relentlessly in a stadium filled with 109,000 Michigan fans. (I can’t say I would mind if I never heard their fight song, “The Victors” again.)

Afterwards, behind the stadium and away from the cheers of the crowd, a ritual occurred that takes place at countless stadiums across the country every Saturday. Families waited for their sons to exit the locker room and board the team bus. In that brief space and time, hugs were exchanged, consolation was given and effort was recognized – a moment of comfort on a very challenging day.

Some days it is not your day and, for a host of reasons, Saturday was not our team’s day. Nonetheless, a full and complete effort was given by all of our players, coaches and staff and that, to me, is big-time college football.

The Campaign for SDSU

Elliot Hirshman — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 18:10:33 +0000

Over the last week, we had a number of events to kick off the public phase of our comprehensive fundraising campaign. Our campaign goal is to raise $500 million and I am proud to say that we are more than halfway there.

I write to share a few reflections on the campaign. The campaign comes at a pivotal moment in the university’s history. We have enjoyed great success. As a new president, it has been my privilege to come to know this special university – to see how we are educating future leaders, how our research and creative endeavors are addressing society’s challenges, and how we are engaging with our community. We are poised to move to the next level and private philanthropy is absolutely essential for this next step.

Funds are necessary to support our extraordinary students. This support is for students from diverse backgrounds; for students who face economic hardship; for students with special academic, artistic and athletic gifts; for students who are veterans; and for students like our Guardian Scholars who were raised in the foster care system. In summary, it is for students who will, as a group, shape the future of our society.

Funds are also necessary to support our exceptional faculty and staff members. This support is for faculty and staff members who are educating the next generation of leaders; who are conducting cutting-edge research; who are addressing pressing social problems; who are advancing the arts and humanities; and who are partnering with the community and supporting economic development. In summary, for faculty and staff members who are carrying out the core mission of the university

This is an exciting time and we have much work to do to support our community. I am confident we will succeed.

More information about the Campaign for SDSU can be found at: www.sdsu.edu/campaign

Meeting the Deans

Elliot Hirshman — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 16:08:52 +0000

I had the pleasure of meeting individually with three of our Deans, Ric Hovda of Education, David Hayhurst of Engineering, and Geoff Chase of Undergraduate Studies (who also has responsibility for the integration of sustainability into our academic efforts). Each Dean spoke articulately and with passion regarding the needs, challenges and opportunities before them this year.

Just as importantly, they all sounded common themes regarding their and their colleagues’ efforts. A focus on the success of all of our students, an emphasis on the role of research and creative endeavors in addressing local and national challenges, the importance of engaging with all facets of our community, the pre-eminence of diversity and internationalization, and the need to tie these themes together in a way that is environmentally and fiscally sustainable permeated all of our discussions. I left campus that night excited and energized and I look forward to hearing from students, faculty and staff regarding how we can advance these central areas in this and the coming years

Meeting SDSU Faculty

Elliot Hirshman — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 22:38:11 +0000

As part of my introduction to the university, I am meeting as many students, faculty, staff and alumni – both in groups and individually – as I can. Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting individually with Peter Herman and Angelo Corlett, two of our leading scholars in the Humanities. Peter is a Milton scholar who has led a national movement to reconsider classical views of Milton. Angelo is a Philosopher and Ethicist who is grappling with how to apply classical ethical frameworks to contemporary challenges. He is also the editor of one of the world’s leading ethics journals, one of many top journals headquartered at San Diego State. Both discussions were interesting and wide-ranging, considering a number of issues in the disciplines, as well as broader issues that impact the university. The broad, integrative character of these discussions emphasizes the central role of the humanities, and the many forms of reasoning it integrates, in our efforts to use our research and creative endeavors to address societal challenges.

Darlene Shiley: A Friend and Supporter

Elliot Hirshman — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 21:01:58 +0000

I had the great pleasure of meeting Darlene Shiley yesterday. Dr. Shiley (we recently gave her an honorary degree) is bold, irreverent and, above all, dedicated to doing everything she possibly can to address our society’s pressing challenges.

Darlene shares our vision that advancing research and creative endeavors is critical to creating a better society. She has demonstrated this support across multiple areas at San Diego State, including the Donald P. Shiley Bioscience Center (focusing on the relation between infection and cardio-vascular health) and our award-winning Musical Theatre program (offering the only MFA in this area in the country). Her philanthropy has been broad, as well as deep, and she has also made important contributions to our sister institutions in the region and many local cultural institutions.

In a period when state support is not likely to increase substantially, the role of private philanthropy becomes increasingly important. We and all of San Diego’s institutions are very fortunate to have Darlene Shiley as a friend and supporter.

Commission on Access, Diversity and Excellence

Elliot Hirshman — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 15:17:32 +0000

Last week I attended the summer meeting of the Commission on Access, Diversity and Excellence (CADE) of the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities (APLU). Drs. Lorenzo Esters and Carla Gary (of APLU and the University of Oregon, respectively) worked with colleagues on CADE’s Executive Board to create an extraordinary program. The program featured symposia on diversifying our faculties, support programs for graduate students, and developing a national agenda for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, among other topics. As a member of the Executive Board, I was especially pleased to be able to share information about the success of our nationally-renowned doctoral program in Clinical Psychology in the symposium on graduate student support. (Kudos to Provost Marlin and our program faculty who helped me prepare for the presentation.)

In addition to the many helpful discussions of approaches for supporting our students and faculty, the meeting highlighted the national consensus on the centrality of a vision of inclusive excellence to the future of our research universities. Universities across the country—from Princeton to Ohio State to the University of Texas to many, many more—have embraced a vision in which all students, regardless of background or station, can achieve excellence. In this regard, San Diego State holds an enviable leadership position in supporting inclusive excellence and I look forward to working with our community to achieve even greater prominence.