President's Message

The energetic discussions that have followed the reporting of an incident regarding a knife in a classroom illustrate to me that we have challenges to address at many levels and among many groups. From my perspective, trust, truth, and accountability are the foundational elements for moving forward. “Trust, but verify” might be the best guiding principle. We can make our university better by establishing communication channels that keep us on the same page, especially on issues that have the…

Let’s reflect on what we do every day at The Beach to enhance the success of our community. A shared commitment to build a healthy campus environment is our best strategy for optimizing our potential as individuals and as a university. Each staff and faculty member, student, and administrator contributes to this environment by nurturing the academic, social, physical, and spiritual aspirations of everyone. At the Beach it’s easy to imagine a pyramid! The pyramid I want to explore with you…

Our future at Long Beach State University seems rosy with record applications for several years in a row, faculty and student awards and recognitions across many disciplines, and steady (if slow) improvements in facilities. But in the bigger picture, growing pressure across the nation to move the costs of a university education to students and their families is troubling. As states divest in public higher education, we see universities cutting programs (especially in the humanities), merging…

Dear Campus Community, Elections have winners and losers. This has been true throughout the history of our democracy. In my decades of voting, I’ve been alternately exhilarated and depressed depending on outcomes. This experience has taught me that the same United States that elects Democrats in one election chooses Republicans (or Independents or Green Party, or Tea Party, etc.) in another. I’ve also learned that no supporter of a particular candidate should be defined by the worst, and…