California State University, San Bernardino has announced that Ellen G. Weisser will receive an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters at its Spring Commencement, scheduled for May 18. Weisser is a philanthropist and long-time supporter of CSUSB. One of CSUSB’s most notable graduates, she has been named the 2024 CSUSB Distinguished Alumna.

Weisser is a tireless advocate for CSUSB’s students and the university. She currently serves as the honorary co-chair of “Our Defining Moment,” the $200 million blended campaign launched in 2022. She is a founding member of the CSUSB Philanthropic Foundation Board and served as board chair for 15 years. She is currently on the foundation’s investment committee. She is also the immediate past president of the College of Arts and Letters Community Leaders Board and is active in the Golden Grad Alumni program.

A strong supporter of performing arts at CSUSB, she established the Ellen Weisser Endowed Theatre Showcase, the first named sponsorship in the department of theatre arts. She currently serves as chair of the theater campaign to raise $10 million for the program. The Weissers’ substantial gift to the forthcoming $125 million-plus performing arts center has led to the naming of the Ellen and Stan Weisser Performing Arts Foyer.

Weisser is fully engaged in the community, and in 2017, she was named the Redlands Chamber of Commerce Woman of the Year. She was instrumental in founding The Grove School, an innovative Montessori institution, and served on its board. She served as an appointed trustee with the San Bernardino County Employees’ Retirement Association for 24 years, San Bernardino County Grand Jury, Redlands YWCA Board, Children’s Fund Board, Bonnes Meres Auxiliary to Children’s Fund and currently continues serving on the board of Family Service Association of Redlands. For over two decades, she has proudly served on the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Inmate Welfare Committee.

“I love this university,” said Weisser of Cal State San Bernardino. “The students here are so inspiring. They are achieving incredible things with their lives. And the faculty here is second to none. It has truly been the honor of a lifetime to be able to support all that CSUSB has done and continues to do in this corner of Southern California. I am beyond grateful for this recognition. You can definitely call me Coyote proud!”

“Conferring an honorary doctorate upon Ellen, a CSUSB-er through and through, in recognition of her profound impact and dedicated service to the betterment of our university, the City of Redlands, as well as San Bernardino County, would be a great honor for CSUSB,” said university President Tomás D. Morales. “Her decades-long dedication to our university and our students has been second to none.”

Weisser attended UCLA, UCR and earned her undergraduate degree in 1968 as part of CSUSB’s second graduating class, receiving academic honors in English. She also attended graduate school at CSUSB for her teaching credential, and subsequently, she attended the University of Redlands for school administration.

Poole has spent her career in public service, serving in all three branches of California’s government and with the County of San Bernardino. She has combined that work along with volunteer service on the CSUSB Alumni Association Board and on the CSU Alumni Council, where she has twice led as president and chaired the council’s government relations committee. She was named Cal State San Bernardino’s Alumni Advocate of the Year in 2008.

Poole credits her CSUSB bachelor’s degree, earned as a nontraditional student, for opening opportunities for meaningful state-level public service. Her acceptance into the prestigious California Capital Fellows program in Sacramento launched her career in California state government. She was a highly regarded senior policy consultant to two of the State Assembly’s presiding leaders. She received a gubernatorial appointment to deputy director of public affairs for the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, the largest state civil rights agency in the nation.

Poole’s state service culminated as senior legislative advocate for the Judicial Council’s Office of Governmental Affairs. Her efforts were particularly significant for the Inland Empire, where the Superior Courts of San Bernardino and Riverside counties are the most under-resourced in the state.

Poole’s volunteer service is equally impressive. She is known throughout the CSU system as a well-respected alumna whose unwavering volunteer leadership for more than 20 years has helped to strengthen the CSU degree, increase state and federal investments in students and academic programs, promote alumni engagement and improve graduation rates.

Her record of extraordinary volunteer leadership for the betterment of her own alma mater and its students is extensive. Underrepresented students often lack accomplished professional role models, which makes her involvement as an Alumna Professor for a Day, a panelist for the President’s Scholars Leadership Symposium and her workshops across disciplines to encourage students to apply for the competitive California Capital Fellows program especially impactful.

Dia also serves on the CSUSB Master of Public Administration advisory board, where she encourages public sector employees to enter the program. She also champions curricular developments that advance university, local government and community-based partnerships.

As a member of the CSUSB Philanthropic Foundation Board’s Advocacy Committee, Poole joins the campus delegation annually in Sacramento and often in Washington, D.C. Her personal philanthropic support to the university is demonstrated by her legacy, or estate, gift to the university.

“My life was forever changed by CSUSB and the opportunities it opened up to me,” said Poole. “It is why I have continued to volunteer here on this campus and with the CSU at large. It is such a tremendous honor to receive this recognition. I know that a CSU degree can transform the lives of all Californians who enroll. And if you are a nontraditional student? Don’t let that stop you. CSUSB administrators, faculty, staff and students value the professional and life experience you bring with you.”

“Conferring an honorary doctorate upon Dia, a double graduate of our university, in recognition of her profound impact and dedicated service to the people of California and the betterment of her alma mater would be a great honor for CSUSB,” said university President Tomás D. Morales.

Poole is a two-time CSUSB graduate, with a B.A. in business administration and information management (1990) and an M.A. in communications studies (2023).