April 18, 2023
Dear Campus Colleagues,
With the sun daring to shine outside our windows, it is finally starting to feel like spring. This is the season where students everywhere begin to feel the first whispers of summer and the end of the school year. Our soon-to-be graduates are gearing up for Commencement and Whatever Comes Next, while our fall class of new students are (hopefully!) looking forward to transitioning to our beautiful campus. And I sit, looking out at the vivid botanical variety we are so fortunate to enjoy, and contemplating how much is coming to fruition over the next few months for our campus community.
The incredibly robust rewards of SSU Giving Day this year are so encouraging, because it is clear by the sheer number of gifts (more than 750) and the money raised for our campus (more than $350,000), that our campus community is truly behind the university’s success and longevity. What a blessing that is, at a time when the pressure is on and our budget situation can feel a little bleak. So, thank you for your dedication, support, and faith in Sonoma State; you are a credit to this university and to the talented students we help shepherd to their future. I also see this excitement at the Admitted Student Receptions I attended across the state. As you can see from this photo of the Anaheim Reception, the house was packed and interest ran high. This is the kind of energy we need to keep our campus growing and moving forward!
So much is happening on campus, as well. I encourage you to check the Seawolf Calendar, early and often, and commit to attending as many events as you can. We really have some amazing talent and opportunities here. For example, I was privileged to view the 2023 Juried Student Exhibition at the University Art Gallery and was so impressed by both the range and the depth of the work. We cannot underestimate the importance of art to our educational mission – so many cultural issues are wrangled and interpreted in conversation with these works. The exhibit will be available through 4/23, if you want to view it. I also attended two masterful events at our Green Music Center. Cellist YoYo Ma and pianist Kathyrn Stott performed at the beginning of the month, delivering a moving and unifying evening of music and emotion. They were followed two days later by Ijeoma Oluo, whose presentation is part of the Social Justice Lecture Series, sponsored by former SSU Professor Andréa Neves and her late husband and co-hosted by the Schools of Education and Social Sciences. Ms. Oluo’s presentation was incredibly timely, in that she talked about her book, So You Want To Talk About Race, which is this year’s Common Read selection, but she also talked about the myriad issues of divisiveness and inequity that drive so much of our current democratic crises. I was still ruminating on that discussion when I watched our Seawolves baseball team beat CSU Dominguez Hills (Go Seawolves!), thinking about how much hope I have for the next generation of societal leaders. So much is right with our young people, and they have so much potential for success, that our role is crucial and, at least for me, invigorating and uplifting.
I guess we will test this out informally in the fall, when Hiroshima University and Sonoma State will have a speech contest. We are currently exploring joint exchanges for that event. I also addressed the North Bay Leadership Council as keynote luncheon speaker, and let them know about our remarkable faculty, our highly engaged students, and the positive signs that SSU is coming back into its own. The community needs to know what positive steps we are taking and the range of successes we are seeing. Speaking of which, I want to let all of you know that I spent last week at the annual American Council on Education (ACE) meeting in Washington, DC. Speakers included the Secretary of Education, Miguel A. Cardona, and despite difficult times, the tone was hopeful. Which is what I want to leave with you – a hopeful image that reflects the power and promise of diversity in our country and our university.
Warmly,
Mike
Mike Lee, Ph.D.
President
