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CSUCI leader talks of added programs, cost cuts in address
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Karen Quincy Loberg / Star staff 02-27-07 Camarillo: Richard Rush, president of California State University Channel Islands, gives a "State of the University" speech to the Camarillo Chamber of Commerce at a lunch held Tuesday at Spanish Hills Country Club in Camarillo.
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More from Education: CollegeCSU Channel Islands will open a library and launch programs in applied physics and Chicano studies this year.
However, the Camarillo university also stands to lose $2 million in funding and will have to keep enrollment flat because of proposed state budget cuts.
Those are among the prospects for 2008, announced by President Richard Rush in his annual state of the university address Tuesday in Camarillo.
Because of the proposed budget cuts, the university will be "denying access, denying opportunity, denying you educated people ready to work in your company or industry," Rush told business leaders gathered at the luncheon hosted by the Camarillo Chamber of Commerce.
The university, which opened in 2002, "is the most important force in the economy and culture in Camarillo," said Chamber President Tom Kelley in introducing Rush.
In turn, Rush asked his audience to talk to state legislators about the importance of higher education.
"Higher education is the future of this state," he said. "Help us illuminate and educate our decision-makers."
In his address, Rush also noted some of the university's accomplishments in the past year. Those accomplishments include a seven-year accreditation, new programs in nursing and communication, and a land exchange that added 153 acres to the front of the campus — space that will be used for parking and playing fields.
"We know we've become a real university because we have parking problems," Rush said.
The university also graduated its first freshman class last year and exceeded its enrollment targets, Rush said.
With all its accomplishments, the university is like the racehorse Seabiscuit, Rush said in his opening remarks.
"Like Seabiscuit, we had humble beginnings," he said. "But we, too, are overcoming the blue bloods. It's quality, not reputation, that wins out."
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