Current Vol. 7 No. 2

The Margin of Excellence

The long-anticipated opening of California State University Channel Islands has become a reality. As you read this, students and faculty are in the classrooms, and Cal State Channel Islands has embarked on a journey that will span hundreds of years and that will involve the education of thousands of students. Ventura County and the State of California will be the long-term beneficiaries of our efforts as each year hundreds — and someday thousands — of students graduate, who will go on to find rewarding work, to become productive citizens, and to contribute effectively to the betterment of society. After years of successful community activism in support of a four-year, public university for Ventura County; after months of faculty meetings and strategy sessions to design the academic program and produce the University catalog; after weeks of planning and preparation for the Inauguration and the Grand Opening ceremonies; and now that students and faculty are in our classrooms, the question arises: Now what? What do we do for an encore? Is there another hill for us to climb; another plateau for us to reach? There are, in fact, several hills for us to climb before this time next year. As you know, we will admit our first freshman class in the fall of 2003.