As our 25th year as a CSU campus begins, I would like to say welcome back to all returning California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) students and give a special shout out to our new freshmen and transfers.
It is great to have you all here. I hope that you are ready for an experience that will be exciting and challenging, fun and rewarding. I also hope that you are ready to play an active role in our campus community.
All of you have your own personal reasons for being here at CSUMB. Perhaps it was a particular course of study, or the chance to attend college with a few special friends. Maybe you wanted to be close to home, or you needed a bit of distance.
There is one common factor, however, that makes a CSUMB education special. It is the personalized, small-campus feel that unites us all in a common purpose. We are committed to helping every one of you attain your educational goals.
In 2017, The Chronicle of Higher Education cited our campus as the university with the nation’s second-largest improvement in six-year graduation rates. Those rates have continued to increase.
That is a tribute to the hard work of our faculty and staff. It is also a tribute to our students. As a university, we provide a full range of student support and health and wellness programs, but it is up to you as students to take advantage of them. Students who move outside their comfort zones and seek help getting through the occasional rough patches of a college career are the ones who persist and graduate.
Students who look out for one another, who offer support in the tough times, and congratulations in the good times are instrumental in building a caring campus culture.
I therefore encourage you to take advantage of all that CSUMB has to offer.
Working together, we will continue to make this a great place to live, to work, and to learn.
Eduardo M. Ochoa
President, Cal State Monterey Bay