A Moment with President Tomás Morales – January 2023

Happy New Year to you! I hope that your holidays were festive and bright, filled with friends and family and the presence of supportive community. The month of December provides us with both a chance to celebrate as well as a recognition of the empty chairs at our tables for those we have lost over the past year or years. While I love the lights and the sparkle and the gift-giving, I am also grateful for the opportunities to pause in the warmth of the memory of our loved ones whom we miss.

As I wrote about in my last blog, my holiday season really kicked off with the opportunity to honor Richard “Cheech” Marin with the inaugural Cal State San Bernardino President’s Medal, the highest recognition bestowed by the university on an individual who never attended or graduated from CSUSB. Was he as fun and funny as his reputation?  Yes! And, even more, he was warm, personable and humble.

December itself flew by, as classes wrapped up, we held our sixth annual Riverside Alumni Mixer and also celebrated the fall graduates with a mid-year Commencement ceremony at the Toyota Arena in Ontario. Honestly, it never gets old watching the excitement on the faces of our graduates and the pride clearly reflected in the applause of their family members and friends who were gathered to cheer them on in reaching this tremendous academic achievement.

Another milestone in the history of our university: the appointment of the next provost and vice president for academic affairs!  Interim provost and former dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Dr. A. Rafik Mohamed, accepted our offer and has assumed the permanent role effective January 1, 2023. An outstanding leader, academic and educator, his dedication to our mission and to student success makes him the perfect fit. If you have not met him yet, I know you will have the chance to meet him soon.

Now that Cal State San Bernardino is on a semester-based academic calendar, the month of January is an academic in-between time that we call “intersession.”  This special period runs from mid-December through mid-January and offers academic credit courses to CSUSB students and the general public. Registration began back on November 7, 2022. Students are eligible to earn up to 4-units.

I look forward to the coming year and the spring semester. While we recognize history and past practices on our San Bernardino and Palm Desert campuses, we also celebrate innovation and breaking new ground, literally and figuratively, as we move confidently into the future. Tomorrow looks bright here at CSUSB—thank you for being a part of our journey.