Dear San José State campus community,

I hope many of you had the opportunity to see Spartan success in action at one of our inspiring spring commencement ceremonies. We now have over 10,000 new alumni — with more than 7,500 graduates in spring 2022 and 2,500 in fall 2021 — proudly holding diplomas from San José State University. It will be exciting to chart their progress as they step out into the world and begin impacting their communities.

San José State’s future looks bright. In keeping with our Transformation 2030 goals, we will continue to engage and educate, excel and lead, grow and thrive, connect and contribute, rebuild and renew — and do it all in a caring and inclusive way. This is in the DNA of this great university. All of us connected to SJSU are here to support our student’s success, advance our regional needs, lift up communities and ultimately achieve greatness as a higher education institution. 

While we will undoubtedly face challenges of the type we have seen recently, together we can overcome them. Our students, faculty and staff are second-to-none. We have done this for over 150 years, and by supporting each other and keeping our goals and mission in mind, we have shown we will be successful.

I encourage you to visit and subscribe to SJSU’s newly revamped NewsCenter, which does a great job of capturing highlights from this past semester. From academics, awards and achievements to research and innovation, campus life, community engagement and much more, you’ll find stories that convey the excellence we aspire to and consistently achieve on this campus. I’m so proud to be a part of this community.

Looking forward, I’m already thinking about delivering my fall address on Aug. 18, during which I will talk about important campus priorities, such as student success, academic excellence, research and innovation, city and regional engagement, Transformation 2030 and campus climate initiatives that support our values of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, among other topics. Please look for further communications about the fall address in the weeks ahead.

In the meantime, while I know we will be working hard to continue San José State’s status as the most transformative university in the nation, I hope this summer allows you to enjoy time with family, friends and loved ones while recharging your batteries for the fall.

With warm regards,

Steve Perez
Interim President