California State University Chancellor Timothy White continued a tour of the system’s 23 campuses when he visited CSUMB on Oct. 7. It was his fifth trip to the campus since he became chancellor in December of 2012.

During the visit, he took questions from students, faculty and staff at an open forum; met with reporters from the Otter Realm; visited with students to learn about their work through the university's Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center; met with faculty members to learn about the university's innovative teaching; and talked with a group of staff members.

“In an office, you don’t have the same finger on the pulse,” White said. “Going to each campus, I get to sit down with students and faculty and really understand the innovations that are occurring.” At CSUMB, he wanted to get “a deeper understanding of the innovative excellence on this campus. “CSUMB is on the leading edge of innovation," he said. That was a reference to the $8 million the university was awarded last spring from Governor Brown's $50 million pool of money to reward schools that are using innovative ways to improve student success.

White cited three “touchstones” that guide his work:

• Quality

• Engagement with the community

• Diversity

He noted that the CSU is woven into the communities where campuses are located. “Under President Ochoa, CSUMB has taken a big step in this direction. I hear from community leaders that CSUMB is hitting its stride in that regard.” He went on to say that, “In my three years as chancellor, what has happened at CSUMB is pretty spectacular.” At a meeting with student reporters, he defined the CSU’s greatest challenge in a single word – “resources.” While the system has had “a degree of success in Sacramento getting our budget fully funded, we still have fewer resources than we had 20 years ago – when we were serving 20,000 fewer students,” he said. He was equally succinct in responding to a question about the system’s greatest potential – “an educated California.” White plans to visit each of the 23 campuses during the current academic year.