The start of fall semester marked the beginning of my fifth academic year with San Francisco State University. As President, I’ve conferred the degrees of 29,058 Gators. Recent graduates, to mention just a few, have gone on to: serve as a Peace Corps teacher in Guyana, counsel foster youth for a San Francisco agency, and earn a University of Texas doctorate before returning to SF State to train future biomedical researchers.
In 2016-17, the University is redoubling efforts to support students in completing their degrees as part of the CSU’s Student Success Graduation Initiative.
Our entire community is focused on ensuring SF State remains accessible to students such as these talented individuals. In the coming year, we are poised to do even more. In support of the CSU-wide Student Success Graduation Initiative, we’ve redoubled our efforts to support students in completing their degrees. Early planning is underway, but improvements are expected to come by identifying roadblocks to timely graduation and offering steps, such as preferential class sign-ups for seniors.
The alumni and faculty whose stories span the pages of this edition of SF State Magazine attest to the meaningful opportunities and future achievement awaiting successful graduates.
It’s not uncommon to hear from an alumna such as Myla Ramos, profiled in our Alumni and Friends section. A company founder and CEO, she credits SF State for opening her mind to a major she’d never before heard of that she draws on in business to this day. You’ll also meet alumna Neda Nobari. After her own business success, Nobari has given back to her alma mater in a lasting way by establishing the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies. The Center will connect Iranian diaspora communities and broaden the field of Iranian studies at SF State.
Spotlighted in our cover story, Sean Ansett and Okorie Ramsey are among College of Business alumni who prize the ethical grounding gained at SF State. Both have applied corporate social responsibility and sustainable business principles in ways that are raising the bar in sectors from telecommunications to health care.
Our faculty, as always, have been hard at work, too, advancing knowledge in fields like Autism Spectrum Disorder, while simultaneously mentoring SF State students through clinical practice. A team of political science professors, meanwhile, held an ambitious 15-week lecture series this semester for students and the public geared toward informing and activating citizens beyond each presidential election cycle.
As these snapshots into the vibrant life of the University and its people remind us, there can never be too many Gators doing good work in the world. Through the gains to come from ongoing efforts, such as the Student Success Graduation Initiative, I look forward to soon welcoming even more graduates into our dynamic, growing SF State family.
Sincerely yours,
Les Wong
President