A Message from President Papazian

Photo by Brandon Chew


As Silicon Valley’s public university, San Jose State must be transformational for our students and our community. Students are at our core and our community is our home. This is one of the reasons we have entitled SJSU’s new strategic plan Transformation 2030. But we transform ourselves as a university only as the needs of our students change, as the region and world around us continue to evolve—not just for the mere sake of change.

Our core mission is to ensure that our students graduate with the tangible skills and knowledge they will need to be successful and to thrive in their post-collegiate careers and in service to their communities, particularly in the innovation economy in which we find ourselves.

This issue of Washington Square highlights how growing San Jose State’s dynamic research and innovation environment allows us not only to adapt to, but also to set the pace of change. Learn “Where Research Leads” from four alumni who are making an impact in their fields and how wildfire weather researcher Craig Clements and his students are getting close to the flames to understand fire behavior.

SJSU has broken ground on our Interdisciplinary Science Building, the first phase of an ambitious plan to create state-of-the-art learning and research spaces in a new Science Park. The Science Park is going to be a game-changer for San Jose State.

Additionally, the success of our students depends on both academic and personal well-being. Cathy Busalacchi, ’76 Recreation, has spent 30 years looking out for our students. The opening of the new Spartan Recreation and Aquatic Center is the culmination of her vision to create spaces for students to engage and be well.

Through Transformation 2030, we are taking the long view, looking forward 10 or 20 years, and even longer into the future. We will ask ourselves: How are we contributing to solving the world’s problems? Are we constantly reinventing ourselves, adding or modifying programs that are relevant to the changing and emerging economy that we see around us? Are we addressing these essential questions with solutions that reflect our values?

I hope you’ll join us as this important transformation takes shape.

Sincerely,

Mary A. Papazian, PhD

Learn more about Transformation 2030 at sjsu.edu/strategicplan. Please share your thoughts by emailing sjsupres@sjsu.edu or on Twitter at @PrezPapazian. You may also subscribe to my blog.

 

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