A Moment with President Tomás Morales – February 2024

The month of February brings our university’s annual celebration and exploration of the rich history and culture of Black Americans during Black History Month. The campus community provides a rich mixture of activities which students, faculty, staff and guests are able to attend and experience.

A long-time campus tradition, hosted by the Black Faculty, Staff and Student Association, is the Pioneer Breakfast. The event celebrates those individuals who exemplify the best of CSUSB by exhibiting professionalism, helping students, and showing a positive attitude toward colleagues and the university community. Students are also honored with BFSSA-sponsored scholarships to support them in their academic goals. This annual celebration is heartwarming, inspiring and empowering.

This month we are also celebrating and raising awareness of two programs which greatly enhance access to and support of a segment of CSUSB’s students: the Educational Opportunity Program and its subsidiary program, The Renaissance Scholars.

Since EOP’s founding in 1969, its efforts have graduated thousands of CSU students. These alumni now work in both public and private service while also contributing to their local communities, demonstrating the program’s transformational results.

EOP’s mission is to provide higher education access to historically low-income, underrepresented and first-generation students who have the potential to succeed at the university level and to provide the comprehensive student support services throughout their academic careers.

EOP acts as the umbrella for the Renaissance Scholars Program. Launched at CSUSB in 2003, Renaissance Scholars’ formalized services are provided specifically to foster youth students attending our university. We are proud to celebrate their Cal State San Bernardino 20-year anniversary this month!

While EOP’s core elements are to provide access, to advocate and to provide a transitional and empowering student experience, as well as to provide comprehensive support services, Renaissance Scholars builds on these with its focus on foster youth from getting them into college through graduation and beyond, including starting a career or continuing on to graduate school.

Renaissance Scholars’ intentional targeted approach to increasing awareness about foster youth needs in higher education, as well as through collaborative efforts with community agencies, has allowed this initiative to become a recognized and favorable college admissions program for low-income and foster youth students in the Southern California region.

And Renaissance Scholars produces results. Their efforts have increased foster youth college attendance rates along with retention and graduation rates.

The truth is, many foster youth who transition out of foster care want to pursue a four-year degree. The challenges they face include: limited family support, access to academic support, mental health issues due to trauma and loss, insufficient financial resources and the expectation of providing for themselves at such a young age.

This is a vibrant population that higher education and our society cannot afford to overlook. It is therefore critical for our colleges and universities to develop and offer programs directed towards this student population’s needs.

If you are interested in learning more about Renaissance Scholars, please visit their website. Support to the program provides:

• Year-round housing assistance to prevent displacement;
• Ongoing food resources in times of need;
• Assistance with discretionary funds to remove barriers to academic progress including gaps in financial aid, academic supplies, textbooks, transportation costs, along with a variety of other needs that may act as a barrier to their educational success; and
• Co-curricular experiences, which include: student programming, workshops and community building activities which represent the social and life skills components that help to enrich students’ lived experiences and develop their skillsets.

I am proud that CSUSB is a vibrant, diverse community and that we are committed to finding ways to promote access to a higher education degree for those who are ready to take advantage of the opportunity but find barriers put in their way which discourage them from moving forward.

Until next time—

Tomás D. Morales

President