An Op-ed by Don W. Kassing, SJSU Interim President
Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal
December 31, 2010
Photo credit: Vicki Thompson - Don W. Kassing, San Jose State University interim president, says as state funding declines, the public universities that will thrive are those with the entrepreneurial spirit to cultivate a much more diverse funding base.
Not far from where I’m writing this, Silicon Valley’s engineers of tomorrow are in San Jose State University’s student success center, receiving the academic and pre-professional support they need to complete their degrees and go to work.
Nearby, Silicon Valley’s business leaders of tomorrow are preparing to travel abroad, where they will conduct research to help real clients resolve real issues, gaining the kind of experience that makes our region’s workforce globally competitive.
And over in the heart of our campus, in our teaching college, where it all began for SJSU, faculty members are launching a first-of-its-kind research center supporting K-12 students’ social and emotional well-being, which we all know forms the foundation for learning.
What’s the common thread? All three of these endeavors are being funded by gifts from local businessmen and women who, like many of you, graduated from San Jose State, built their businesses from the ground up, and understand that giving back has a profound impact not only on the lives of today’s students, but also on the continued vitality of our region.
In fact, as reported in this newspaper, we recently launched our first-ever comprehensive fundraising campaign. “Acceleration: The Campaign for San Jose State University” aims to raise $200 million by 2014.
As is the custom with such efforts, we raised well over half this amount during the campaign’s quiet phase, which began in 2006. This includes the gifts referenced above from Charles W. Davidson, Don and Sally Lucas, and Connie L. Lurie.
But this is just the beginning. Public higher education is in the midst of a profound shift. As state funding continues to decline, the public universities that will thrive are those with the entrepreneurial spirit to cultivate a much more diverse funding base, including robust partnerships with the private sector. The fact is, there is much that public universities must learn from our private peers in order to continue graduating top-flight workers and powering our regional and state economies.
At San Jose State, our partners, from individuals to foundations to industry, support us because it’s the right thing to do. But just as important, our partners understand that the university’s success benefits them. If your family, your neighborhood, your career or your business benefit from the innovation and vitality that characterize our region, then your life has already been touched by our university.
We generate nearly a billion dollars a year for the state economy, mostly here in Silicon Valley. We send 7,000 talented graduates into the workforce each year. And we partner with communities throughout the region on everything from health research and social work to business, arts and cultural development.
This is an exciting time at San Jose State. We’ve raised admissions standards and broken ground on the expansion of our Student Union. Our faculty continues to develop amazing ways to enhance the learning experience across more than 100 fields, from computer animation to cyber security, from global finance to biomedical engineering.
Not far from where you are reading this, San Jose State is transforming the lives of 30,000 students and advancing the future of our region and our state. But we need your help. We need you to make our students your interns and send your recruiters to our campus. We need you to partner with us on issues of regional and global importance. And most of all, we need you to invest in the future of Silicon Valley by investing in us.
Don W. Kassing is the interim president of San Jose State University. Kassing was president of the University from 2005-08, retired and was asked to return as interim president for a one-year term.