{"id":796719,"date":"2026-05-14T21:41:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T21:41:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/796719\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T21:41:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T21:41:14","slug":"as-we-look-forward-to-commencement-we-take-a-glance-at-cal-state-las-productive-2025-26-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/796719\/","title":{"rendered":"As we look forward to Commencement, we take a glance at Cal State LA\u2019s productive 2025-26 year"},"content":{"rendered":"

The future looks bright for Cal State LA\u2019s Class of 2026. Next week\u2019s Commencement ceremonies at the historic Shrine Auditorium will place the spotlight on\u00a0our graduates and the\u00a0promising\u00a0future\u00a0that await\u00a0them after they receive their diplomas.<\/p>\n

Before we look ahead, let\u00a0us\u00a0take a quick glance back at the productive\u00a0school\u00a0year for Cal State LA, which President Berenecea Johnson Eanes\u00a0recently\u00a0described during her\u00a0inaugural\u00a0State of the University address at The Luckman.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor almost 80 years, Cal State LA has been deeply rooted in Los Angeles,\u201d\u00a0she\u00a0said.\u00a0\u201cWe are the engine of social mobility. Diversity is our strength. At Cal State LA, dreams are not just\u00a0imagined,\u00a0they are realized. And each of you here today plays\u00a0an important role\u00a0in the success of our students. This past year, we\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0just say \u2018Empowering Dreams, Transforming Lives\u2019\u2014we lived it.\u201d<\/p>\n

President Eanes\u00a0provided highlights\u00a0from the past year\u00a0in\u00a0five key areas: Academic Affairs; Student Affairs; Enrollment Management; University Advancement; and\u00a0Administration\u00a0and Finance.<\/p>\n

Academic Affairs:<\/strong>\u00a0The Fulbright Program\u00a0named Cal State LA\u00a0a\u00a0Fulbright\u00a0Scholar\u00a0Top Producing\u00a0Institution<\/a>,\u00a0one of\u00a0only\u00a0four master\u2019s institutions around the\u00a0nation to be recognized for its strong commitment\u00a0to\u00a0pursuing international teaching, research, and professional exchange opportunities. J. Chris Bachman, Arturo Pacheco-Vega, and Olaseni \u201cSeni\u201d Sode were chosen for the Fulbright\u00a0U.S. Scholar Program awards for the 2025-26 academic year. Additionally, Cal State LA was selected to host Dario Coletti\u00a0from Sapienza University in Rome\u00a0as\u00a0a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residency.<\/p>\n

Student Affairs:<\/strong>\u00a0The university expanded student services, including\u00a0advising,\u00a0mental health, and student support programs. More than 2,600 students began building their plans early during orientation. Student life and\u00a0school\u00a0pride\u00a0were\u00a0highlighted by the women\u2019s basketball\u00a0team\u00a0winning its\u00a0first-ever California Collegiate Athletic Association championship.<\/p>\n

Enrollment Management:<\/strong>\u00a0Freshman\u00a0commitment rose 52% and transfers are up 51%. \u201cThey are choosing us because they see a place where they belong and where they can succeed,\u201d Eanes said.<\/p>\n

University Advancement:<\/strong>\u00a0Cal State LA secured $54 million in gift commitments, including a\u00a0record $48 million grant from the Ballmer\u00a0Group<\/a>\u00a0to expand youth mental health services.<\/p>\n

Administration\u00a0and Finance:<\/strong>\u00a0The university\u00a0made campus improvements,\u00a0enhanced beautification, and\u00a0strengthened\u00a0partnerships\u00a0with\u00a0brands like Red Bull,\u00a0Coca-Cola,\u00a0and Apple.<\/p>\n

Eanes\u00a0then\u00a0shifted gears\u00a0by unveiling the university\u2019s\u00a0four\u00a0Strategic Priorities for 2026-30.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are not separate\u00a0priorities;\u00a0they are one shared commitment, and all this comes from all your feedback,\u201d she said. \u201cThis work belongs to all of us. \u2026 And in the months ahead, we will continue shaping this vision together.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Strategic Priorities are:<\/p>\n

Integrated Student Experience:<\/strong>\u00a0Empower students to connect\u00a0curricular and\u00a0co-curricular learning to purpose, while honoring and elevating their identities, lived experiences, and perspectives within a university-wide student experience of belonging, engagement, and career readiness.<\/p>\n

Bridging Access to Achievement:<\/strong>\u00a0Unify a campuswide approach to enrollment, persistence, and completion that expands access and strengthens pathways for student success from entry through graduation.<\/p>\n

A Culture of Empowered Growth:<\/strong>\u00a0Advance a culture that empowers faculty and staff to thrive and excel by fostering engagement, supporting professional growth,\u00a0and\u00a0strengthening\u00a0systems that sustain and elevate teaching, research, and staff contributions.<\/p>\n

Resources Aligned to Mission:<\/strong>\u00a0Serve students and advance institutional impact by strengthening financial sustainability, fueling innovation, and ensuring long-term capacity.<\/p>\n

Eanes concluded her address by providing words of inspiration.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we look to the future,\u00a0we\u00a0are\u00a0a\u00a0community with one purpose,\u201d she said. \u201cPlease stay\u00a0in\u00a0community. Stay candid, stay focused, stay aware that we are one LA. Thank\u00a0you, thank you, thank you for all you do, and I hope that you go into Commencement season happy with the fact that what we do every day really matters.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The future looks bright for Cal State LA\u2019s Class of 2026. Next week\u2019s Commencement ceremonies at the historic…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":796720,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[1582,276,2961,224,5337],"class_list":{"0":"post-796719","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-california","10":"tag-la","11":"tag-los-angeles","12":"tag-losangeles"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116575108455631768","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796719","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=796719"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796719\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/796720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=796719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=796719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=796719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}