On the heels of announcing her retirement this coming August, President Ellen Junn delivered her final welcome address to the CSU Stanislaus community last week. The annual semester kick-off is an opportunity for Junn and her cabinet to highlight each department’s recent accomplishments.  
Joined on stage by her cabinet members, Junn reflected briefly on her time at Stan State, praising the people that make the campus successful.
“It has been the greatest privilege and honor of my life to serve this amazing, remarkable institution for our students, our faculty, our staff, and our alumni, who are the heart and soul of our university,” she said.
She assured the audience that she will continue to lead the university with the same level of commitment and energy in her last six months on campus as she has the last seven years.
“I know that you will join with me and our campus leaders to enthusiastically continue our all-hands-on deck work to support increased enrollment and enhance student success,” she said.
Junn praised the recent success of the J. Burton Vache Library’s donor wall, which will be unveiled in April. The project raised more than $1 million during a fundraising campaign this past year.
“Let’s hear it for a million dollars during the pandemic,” she said, to a roar of applause.
Junn spoke about highlights of a new economic impact report published by the university, which shows the many ways Stan State impacts the community economically. The university worked with the consulting firm Lightcast to produce the report.
The report showed that Stan State contributed $770.5 million to its six-county service region from 2021-2022. It also showed that for every dollar students invest in their education, they will receive a return of $12.10 in higher future earnings, while every dollar invested in Stan State, California as a whole will receive $14.50 in return.
“This report clearly demonstrates Stan State’s compelling impact on the economic vitality of our region,” Junn said.
ASI and Cabinet updates
During an update on Stan State’s Associated Students Inc. (ASI), Vice President JC Navarro said while the theme of last semester’s ASI update was perseverance as a community, this semester they will continue to persevere while striving to accomplish the mission of Stan State. Part of this mission has included the ASI board meetings with their respective departments to discuss initiatives for change, he explained.  
“They were constantly busy with passing on agenda items to improve the quality of life on campus,” he said, before listing items the board passed in the fall semester.
Some of those included: 

• Funds to the food pantry to help student parents purchase diapers, wipes and formula
• Food vouchers for fall 2022 sports to encourage student attendance
• Funding for tablecloths and other needs for student orgs
• Held two town hall meetings; one addressing all campus concerns, the other addressing parking needs on campus
• Primary election ballot drop-off days

In an update on Academic Affairs, Provost and Vice President Richard Ogle said the annual welcome addresses are a great time to talk about the special things they’re planning to do, but it’s also a time to talk about the daily ongoing opportunity to provide a transformational experience for students.
“And doing that by supporting faculty and staff in the work that they love and the work that they do well,” Ogle said.
Some of the things their department is working on include an Academic Affairs strategic plan that includes input from faculty, staff and students. He also noted that they are in the process of academic recruitment and searching for a handful of positions including AVP of Faculty Affairs, Dean of College of Science, Dean of Stockton campus, and AVP for Strategic Enrollment Management, as well as 22 tenure track faculty.
Vice President for Strategic Planning, Enrollment Management and Innovation, Dr. Gitanjali Kaul, gave an update on her department. Kaul, who will be stepping down from her role in the fall to return to teaching at the university, said that enrollment is something that is on everyone’s minds.
“There isn’t a room I go in, or people I run into, who don’t ask me about how we’re doing with enrollment and what our future looks like,” she said.
Kaul came prepared with trends, which she said showed robust transfer enrollment for fall 2022 and spring 2023. She added that it’s too early to project what the Fall 2023 outlook will look like, but based on current applicants, there is a decline of about 800 fewer freshman applicants, a trend she said is national and system wide.  
“We are not as down as many other campuses, and I’m sure a lot of people would tell you that, and it is absolutely true, but we are down,” she said.
After each of her cabinet members gave department updates, the floor was open to questions from the audience, which included an announcement that main dining would reopen in the fall. 
A recording of the entire Spring Welcome Address is available to watch on Stan State’s YouTube Channel. The Economic Impact Report can be accessed here.