President's Agenda

President Tomás D. Morales regularly engages with the local community, university partners, legislative representatives and educational leaders worldwide to champion CSUSB and its mission.

President Morales meets with Jeju National University

President Morales meets with officials from Jeju National University

President Morales met with a delegation of educators from Jeju National University in Jeju City, South Korea as part of the group’s three-day visit to enhance its knowledge about the CSUSB campus and strengthen the relationship between the two universities. Morales, who has made study abroad programs a priority for CSUSB students, welcomed the group, saying he wanted to expand the programs to not only bring more international students to the campus, but to have CSUSB faculty visit and teach at the international institutions along with increasing the number of CSUSB students studying abroad. Jeju National University President Seok-eon Song, who led the delegation of six educators, said through an interpreter that the delegation’s visit to the United States was to focus on the quality of its partnerships and international programs with colleges and universities in the United States, including Cal State San Bernardino.

President Morales and the university commit to sustainability

The 2018-2023 Resilient CSUSB Sustainability Plan is part of a commitment by President Morales to deal with climate change. It is a guideline for building, operating and nurturing a healthier, more resilient community for both the San Bernardino and Palm Desert Campus. In December 2017, Morales signed the President’s Climate Leadership Commitments, a signature program of Second Nature, a nonprofit organization committed to accelerating climate action in and through higher education. “Signing the President’s Climate Leadership Commitments pledge is part of our ongoing efforts in sustainability to reduce the university’s carbon footprint here and in Palm Desert,” Morales said. “But CSUSB is taking a broader more holistic approach that considers three elements in dealing with climate change: the economic, environmental and social impacts of university activities.” The goal is to provide a framework for the CSUSB community to not only consider the impacts of university activities, but to also offer guidance for how the university can evolve in the face of emerging challenges.

President Morales speaks at annual HACU conference

In early October, President Morales, in collaboration with UC Riverside Chancellor Kim Wilcox, presented at the 32nd annual Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) conference in Atlanta, Georgia. “As the president of a Hispanic-Serving Institution, I can assure you that Cal State San Bernardino’s membership in HACU has certainly proven mutually beneficial, with our students and our local community being the big winners,” Morales said during the event. HACU, which was established in 1986, represents more than 470 colleges and universities committed to Hispanic higher education success in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Latin America and Spain. The annual conference provides a forum for the sharing of information and ideas for the best practices in the education of Hispanics.

President Morales hosts future astronomers at CSUSB

In March, President Morales and Provost Shari McMahan played host to a group of Cal State San Bernardino students and alumni in the Cal-Bridge Program, which seeks to increase the number of students from traditionally underrepresented groups, including women and Hispanic students, completing their bachelor’s degrees and successfully entering doctoral programs to study astronomy or physics. Cal-Bridge is a consortium consisting of more than 25 physics and astronomy faculty from a network of California State University and University of California campuses as well as community colleges throughout the state, coming together to create a CSU-UC Ph.D. bridge program. His talk was part of California State University’s Super Sunday higher education initiative, which encourages students to pursue college. CSU leaders, trustees, campus presidents and alumni visited 100 African-American churches across the state to talk about preparing for college. CSU Super Sunday began more than a decade ago as a collaboration between the CSU, its campuses and predominantly African-American churches throughout California.

Back row, left to right: Alexander L. Rudolph, professor of physics and astronomy, Cal Poly Pomona; Carol Hood, associate professor of physics, CSUSB; Dorota Huizinga, dean of graduate studies and associate provost of academic research, CSUSB; Shari McMahan, provost and vice president of academic affairs, CSUSB; President Tomás D. Morales, CSUSB; Jeffrey Salazar, CSUSB student; Erika Sanchez, CSUSB student; Este Padilla Gonzalez, CSUSB student. Front row, left to right: Cristilyn Gardner, CSUSB student; Manuel Paul, CSUSB student; Alessa Ibrahim, CSUSB student; Laura Woodney, professor of physics, CSUSB; John Montano, CSUSB student.

President Morales attends SAAB National Conference in Atlanta

In early April, Cal State San Bernardino’s Student African American Brotherhood (SAAB) Chapter sent a delegation of 12 students and two advisers to the SAAB National Conference held in Atlanta. President Morales and former vice president of Student Affairs Brian Haynes also accompanied the group. The students had dinner with Morales and Haynes when they arrived at the conference site, which gave them the opportunity to discuss issues on campus and strategies for students to be successful in and out of the classroom. Morales also participated in a special presidential panel during the conference with three other university presidents and a guest moderator. The CSUSB SAAB Chapter was recognized with the presentation of a plaque for hosting the SAAB Regional Western Cluster Summit in September 2017, when all the SAAB western chapters gathered for a day at CSUSB.

Cal State San Bernardino establishes academic link with Uninorte

The first visit of an international university to President Adolfo Meisel of the Universidad del Norte in Colombia was that of Cal State San Bernardino, represented by President Morales and Tatiana Karmanova, director of international relations. “We seek to strengthen ties with the English-speaking world,” said Meisel at the meeting in mid-July, noting that one of the challenges is to increase the participation of students from the Caribbean region in international scholarships, since one of the major impediments is the language, and through agreements such as the one formalized with the visit of CSUSB takes steps to “close this academic gap.” Morales and Karmanova met with the Academic Management and International Coordination teams. Morales said that, in the first instance, they are working to “develop exchange programs for teachers, students and even administrative personnel.” They also visited the Archaeological Museum of Villages Karib, Mapuka, and expressed their interest in teachers participating in the chairs that are currently organized. “It does not matter if we are in the United States or in Colombia, there is a common language of what a student needs to be successful and spoken at Universidad del Norte,” said Morales on this first approach between the two academic institutions.

CSUSB joins consortium to increase college completion rates

Cal State San Bernardino joined the Complete College Inland Empire, the 45th member of the Complete College America (CCA) Alliance, which focuses on boosting completion rates and closing achievement gaps for the approximately 200,000 students in the region’s public universities and community colleges. “Joining the Complete College America Alliance is a well-timed opportunity for California State University, San Bernardino as we shift our responsibilities as educators from college admissions to college completion,” said Craig R. Seal, dean of CSUSB’s Undergraduate Studies and who is part of the nine-person alliance team for Complete College Inland Empire. “With the California State University system Graduation Initiative (GI) 2025, we can leverage the best-practices of CCA to support our 15 to Finish campaigns, develop Math Pathways, and build momentum for our students.”

CSUSB and Chungnam National University partner to expand opportunities

Cal State San Bernardino and Chungnam National University (CNU) in Daejoen, South Korea, are working together to promote academic cooperation and strengthen education, cultural and technologic ties between the two universities. The working relationship is the result of a memorandum of understanding signed by President Morales and CNU President Deog-Seong Oh during a campus visit by CNU officials on May 11. The CNU delegation and CSUSB discussed the corporation for the Study Abroad in USA programs, English language programs for CNU students at CSUSB, special short-term academic and language programs, joint research and professional activities, and participation in seminars and academic meetings. Morales said he also wanted to provide CSUSB’s domestic students with opportunities to study at international institutions.

President Morales honored at NAACP Freedom Fund Gala

President Morales was among the honorees at the Riverside Branch of the NAACP’s 76th Annual Freedom Fund Gala in early May. Morales was honored with a Kente cloth as a lifetime member of the NAACP. The mission of the NAACP is to advocate for political, education, social and economic equality of rights for all citizens, as well as eradicate racial injustice. The NAACP-Riverside Branch has been fulfilling this mission serving the community for 76 years. The organization has been recognizing significant contributions at this gala affair since the mid-1950s when the first Freedom Fund Dinner was held.