Remembering Charles W. Davidson

We learned today about the passing of Charles W. Davidson, the legendary San José builder, engineer and San José State alumnus for whom our College of Engineering is named. His contributions to our university and to the City of San José are incalculable, and he will be missed tremendously. Our hearts go out to his family and friends.

A Year of Loss and Hope

Roughly a year ago, those of us who work on campus—along with millions of others around the Bay Area and around the country—began working from home in adherence to the county’s shelter-in-place order. Though we continue to have much for which we can be grateful, I write today to acknowledge the sacrifices our campus community has made and the hard work we have performed to fulfill our mission over these past 12 months.

Campus master plan could reshape the physical spaces at SJSU for years to come

Before the pandemic hit early last year and turned all of our lives topsy-turvy, some readers might recall that I had been taking a deep dive into our Transformation 2030 strategic plan. In particular, I had written blog posts about four of the five goals laid out in Transformation 2030. I am happy now to address Goal #5, the final goal from Transformation 2030 —“Renew and Rebuild”—and, in particular, a cornerstone of that goal: the campus master planning process that now is in its early stages.

The time is now for strong federal support of higher education

On Friday, I wrote letters to five key U.S. Senators, including Senators Feinstein and Harris, to request their urgently-needed support for San Jose State University and the entire California State University (CSU) system as we continue to come to grips with the devastating effects our institution faces due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I have since written to several House members as well. Specifically, we are asking legislators to support higher education in the third economic relief package now being negotiated.