Posted on Dec 20, 2005

National recognition, the departure of the university's founding president, and the first event sponsored by the new Center for Reading Diagnosis and Instruction made campus news during 2005.

CSUMB was one of 20 colleges cited as a model for promoting student success in the book, Student Success in College: Creating Conditions that Matter, published by the American Association for Higher Education. The book called CSUMB "an educationally engaging university" and added that it "unequivocally honors diversity."

The university's service learning program was recognized by the editors of U.S. News & World Report in the magazine's 2006 edition of America's Best Colleges. Called "a program to look for," service learning was singled out as an "outstanding example of academic programs that are believed to lead to student success."

And in a survey conducted by Intel Corp. in conjunction with the Center for Digital Education, CSUMB was ranked among the top wireless campuses in the nation. The school is in the forefront of exploring innovative ways to use this new technology through the Wireless Education and Technology Center based on campus.

President Peter Smith, who headed the campus through its first decade, left in June to become the head of education for the United Nations, the first American to hold the position. Provost Diane Cordero de Noriega was named interim president and will serve in that capacity until a permanent replacement is named.

In January, the university received a $2.4 million anonymous gift to establish a reading center on campus. The center will be housed in a former Army building that will be renovated in 2006. Over 100 national leaders in reading, speech-language pathology and special education gathered on campus in August to explore the components of effective instructional leadership in language and reading - the first event sponsored by the new center.

The Alumni and Visitors Center opened in the spring. The ceiling contains Douglas fir recycled from Army buildings that once occupied the site - one of many ways the university recognizes the history of Fort Ord.

Members of the community were welcomed to lectures by civil rights lawyer Lani Guinier and environmentalist Jean-Michel Cousteau. Also visiting campus were United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta, social commentator bell hooks, head of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Julie Packard, former Congressman and Georgetown Law Professor Father Robert Drinan, ethnic studies professor Ward Churchill and Ambassador Joseph Wilson.

The university's 10 varsity teams completed their first season at the NCAA Division II level. The men's basketball team defied pre-season predictions and finished with a 10-10 record, a more-than-respectable showing. Just as impressive was the big-game atmosphere in the gym, where nearly every seat was filled. Players were recruited, coaches hired and facilities secured for the Otters baseball and softball teams, which will begin play this spring. Local resident and former professional player Rich Aldrete will head the baseball program; Andrea Kenney will coach the softball team.

Other highlights include:

• Two students displaced by Hurricane Katrina transferred to CSUMB and were welcomed by the campus community.
• An agreement was reached with a university in China for an exchange of students between the two campuses.
• The largest class yet - approximately 700 - participated in graduation ceremonies before more than 7,500 family members and friends. Kevin Klose, CEO of National Public Radio, delivered the commencement address.
• Several new programs were added to the curriculum - an agricultural management concentration in the School of Business; a bachelor's degree in human performance and wellness; and a master's degree in instructional science and technology.
• CSUMB started to offer organic food choices in its dining facilities, part of a national trend to serve healthier, and locally grown food.
• Planning continued on a new library to be called the Tanimura and Antle Family Memorial Library, after the Salinas agricultural families whose generous contributions are helping to fund it.
• Work began on a campus-wide telecommunications infrastructure upgrade - the underground copper wires and fiber optic cables needed to provide telephone, e-mail and Internet service to campus buildings. The project is expected to take 18 months.

In the year to come, the campus is expected to get a new president; break ground for the library; and start construction on a workforce housing project that was made possible when district voters approved an exemption from developer fees - allowing the project to remain "affordable" for faculty, staff and members of the community. To make way for the new construction, several hundred Army buildings will be demolished.

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