New spaces, more faces, and much to do

Dear Students, Staff, and Faculty,
 
It’s nice to see the slow but sure increase in activity on our Thousand Oaks campus. Our residential students have settled in, athletic teams are starting to practice, and slightly more staff members are working on-site. Starting next week, our outside classrooms open, and the campus will be even livelier as faculty and students come together for mask-to-mask instruction. We will also open the doors to some of our indoor labs and studios so that faculty and students can once again teach and learn in those special spaces. These once-taken-for-granted activities are anything but. Thanks to all of you who are helping us rebuild a sense of familiarity and physical community on campus. We could not have gotten this far without you!
 
Along with the above developments, there are several more I would like to highlight. 
 
Construction of the new Transfer Center and Graduate Admission Office in Alumni Hall has finished, and staff members have started moving into the spaces. A Title V grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program helped to fund the Transfer Center. The Transfer Center, part of Project CHESS, seeks to increase transfer, retention, and degree-completion rates for Latino students. As a reminder, Project CHESS is a cooperative effort between Cal Lutheran and Moorpark College. It supports faculty in designing culturally competent pedagogies that foster student success and a sense of campus belonging.  Since this new space co-locates admissions and other services for transfer students in a single location, it will serve as a vibrant hub for transfer students to network, collaborate, and access mentoring. The Center will also offer an array of student support programs for our current transfer students and host outreach programs for prospective ones. What a great—and necessary—addition to our campus.
 
On the enrollment front, long-term challenges remain since this year’s entering class is smaller than we had hoped. Two bright spots, however, seem to be emerging from our soon-to-be finalized Spring 2021 Census Reports. It appears that the number of enrollment credits in the Graduate School of Education and Graduate School of Psychology is not only higher than the goals we had set, but they are higher than they were in Spring 2020 before the pandemic struck. Kudos to the deans, program directors, and enrollment staff members for this significant achievement. 
 
Over the next few days, we will finalize our enrollment census report and do a deep dive into the year’s final numbers. If our overall enrollment, residential and housing contracts, continued curtailment of goods and services expenses, and federal subsidies remain intact, our year-end financial position will be stable. This will be a significant accomplishment about which I will say more at 1:00 PM on March 5^th during a Faculty and Staff Town Hall.
 
Before March comes marching in, let’s take advantage of the array of programs that students, staff, and faculty have organized to celebrate Black History Month. Some of these include the following. The Fifty and Better program is presenting a lecture on Paul Williams, the first Black member and Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, on Saturday. Myisha Cherry will discuss “Racialized Forgiveness” during the 2021 Harold Stoner Clark Lecture on Tuesday. Cal Lutheran students and faculty members will present and discuss the works of Tracy K. Smith, the U.S. poet laureate from 2017 to 2019, during the kick-off of the three-part series “Voices of the Nation: Celebrating the Work of U.S. Poets Laureate” on Wednesday. The Center for Cultural Engagement & Inclusion has organized a slate of activities ranging from distributing products from Black-owned business to the streaming of “I Am Not Your Negro” to a workshop on “Sustainable Activism: Going Beyond the Demands” on February 24. 
 
In addition to these programs, I would like to draw your attention to a powerful article published this week in The Atlantic. The article highlights an oral history project that captures accounts of formerly enslaved Americans, including Ms. Lucy Brown of Person County, N.C. Her great-great-grandson, colleague Gregory Freeland of our Cal Lutheran Political Science department, gives a poignant interview, filled with insights and inspiration.
 
I end this note as the author of the aforementioned article ended his article, noting the stakes and possibility of “the moment.” Compared to slavery, the pandemic will likely be a short-lived crisis. Yet noting the stakes and possibility of what we are living through at this very moment may help us move through these trying times. Wear your mask, get outside, and say hello to as many people as you see. Friendly waves and smiling eyes keep us strong.
 
 
Sincerely,

Lori E. Varlotta, Ph.D.
President