The “Year of Engagement” is what President Britt Rios-Ellis is calling her first year as president.Today marked her 50th day as President, and she delivered an address that revealed her priorities and goals for the Fall 2024 semester and beyond. Her priorities are student success, budget realignment and the diversification of revenue, and enrollment and retention.
Along the lines of student success, Rios-Ellis informed the audience that Stan State ranked 4th place in the College Futures Foundation’s study focused on the Return on Investment (ROI) of a degree with graduates averaging 0.6 years to recoup costs, earning $31,440 more than a high school graduate.
“These data clearly demonstrate that those who underestimate the value of a degree are not only gravely misled, but also mistaken,” stated Rios-Ellis. She went on to share that grads have more access to healthcare, stable employment, and give back to their communities through civic engagement cultivating a more vibrant and informed society.
Rios-Ellis advocated for community engagement, iterating multiple times how much impact the work has on individuals contributing to it as well as how much impact it has on the communities the work emboldens. She stated with pride that, “The Central Valley thrives when Stan State thrives.”
Rios-Ellis also discussed how CSU Stanislaus saw a decline in the number of first-year and transfer applicants when the pandemic hit, and the university has yet to rebound towards reaching their enrollment targets.
Stan State began accepting more applications as a response, achieving the second-highest acceptance rate and the fourth-highest yield in the CSU, according to the president.
She says, however, that attrition must be tended to with equal fervor as enrollment encouragement.
Rios-Ellis is concerned about the pattern of attrition of dropping out in students’ junior years, and she says she wants to address the issues these students are facing which are causing them to do so.
“We all believe in our students,” the president said, “We know that they are starting strong, and we can provide the holistic support they need to help them get over that hill and stay Warrior Strong.”
These enrollment and attrition issues have led to a difficult financial situation for Stan State, however. President Rios-Ellis advocated for finding alternative revenue sources, such as corporate and foundation partners and fundraising from individual donors, to supplement this loss of revenue.
This includes the issue of salary and benefits for part-time lecturers and faculty and the lowest pay grade faculty in light of the CSU faculty strike last year.
President Rios-Ellis sympathized with these faculty members, stating that she understands the issue from both a personal and professional standpoint, given her husband was a part-time faculty member for decades.
However, she also understands there are difficult economic realities that have to be addressed.
“The belief that the CSU has a huge, infinite pot of gold is just not the truth, and that is really essential,” she said. The president emphasized that the university has to adjust economically from being a campus of 10,000 students to one that enrolls less than 8,000 students.
President Rios-Ellis said one of the most important battles is ensuring the financial health of the university, and therefore the health of the university community, is to lobby our state representatives and the general public so that they see the vital role the university plays in the economic vitality of the state and our region.
“It’s our job as a university community to come together, make sure that our signal is very very loud, that we are undeniable about the value of a higher ed degree, and that’s how we’re going to get to solving the problems that are at the base with our lecturers, with our faculty overall,” she said.
Dr. Ellen Bell of the Anthropology Department says she feels, “cautiously hopeful,” about the direction of the university under the new president. While she loves the ideas expressed by the president, Dr. Bell is aware of the impact tight resources can have on the execution of such goals.
In conversation with Dr. Bell, the Dean of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, James Tuedio, shares that Rios-Ellis, “seems like someone who can initiate sustainability.” He was especially impressed with her motivation to create private partnerships as a means of expanding economic resources for the university.
Sacha Joseph-Mathews, the Chief of Diversity and Inclusion, brought insight to some of the opportunities the university will be taking to embrace diversity on campus. She shared that she is anticipating the initiation of JEDI Warriors, which stands for Justice, Equity, Diversion, and Inclusion. The implementation of JEDI Warriors is to show that the Stan State community does more than talk, the community also takes action.
Sacha Joseph-Mathews adds to the compassionate sentiments of Rios-Ellis regarding, “a desire to make the quietest voices heard,” as she says Stan State shows what it means to belong, fostering an environment where students are “thriving, not just surviving.”
Jelaine Esguerra (Junior, Psychology), the Board Chair of the Student Center, brought a voice to the students, expressing an appreciation for Rios-Ellis’ Warrior spirit.
“She seems very welcoming and has that warrior pride, as well. And, I think, a lot of the initiatives she has align with what we want to see also,” she said.
