President Delivers Fall Welcome Address

President Qayoumi discussed the budget, including the governor’s tax initiative on the November ballot, and the transformative changes needed to balance the books given the avalanche of reductions San Jose State experienced in the recent past (Robert Bain photo).

Media contact: Pat Lopes Harris, 408-656-6999

SAN JOSE, CA – San Jose State University President Mohammad Qayoumi delivered the Fall Welcome Address Aug. 20 in Morris Dailey Auditorium. The speech was streamed live, and a video recording and transcript are available.

An annual tradition, the Fall Welcome Address provides the opportunity for us to come together and reflect on recent accomplishments, identify emerging issues and challenges, and review priorities and opportunities for the coming year.

Associated Students of SJSU President Calvin Worsnup opened the event, noting SJSU will begin the year with 400 student organizations, reflecting the vibrancy and diversity of our student body.

Academic Senate Chair Beth Von Till encouraged faculty, staff and students to transform the unanticipated challenges facing SJSU into new opportunities to teach and mentor our students.

President Qayoumi discussed the budget, including the governor’s tax initiative on the November ballot, and the transformative changes needed to balance the books given the avalanche of reductions San Jose State experienced in the recent past.

Unlimited Opportunities

The president also explored the many ways SJSU has made progress in this challenging environment, including the development of strategic and academic plans reflecting the unlimited opportunities for partnering and fostering innovation given our location in Silicon Valley.

For example, Qayoumi reported Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Ellen Junn is preparing for SJSU’s first cluster hire, which means hiring a cross disciplinary group of faculty members with expertise in a specific field. In this case, that field is cyber security.

“This is a time of great challenge, but it is also a time of great opportunity,” the president concluded. “There is still much more work to be done and as budget cuts deepen, there will be difficult consequences. I believe that if we take advantage of the opportunities to transform now, we will be a stronger, better university.”

San José State — Silicon Valley’s largest institution of higher learning with 30,000 students and 3,850 employees — is part of the California State University system. SJSU’s 154-acre downtown campus anchors the nation’s 10th largest city.