Inland Empire Community Newspapers • September 13, 2012 • Page A3

Community formally welcomes new CSUSB President Morales

By Cynthia Mendoza

Over 800 people, includingeducators, elected offi-cials, administrators, stu-

dents, business and faith leadersand many more came together atthe Santos Manuel Student Unionat Cal State San Bernardino to for-mally welcome new president Dr.Tomás Morales. The event was or-ganized by CIELO, the Coalitionof Inland Empire Latino Organiza-tions.After a meet and greet appetizer

reception in the lobby, guestsmade their way to the main confer-ence center to await Dr. Morales’first formal address as president. The event was MC’d by Dr.

Ernie Garcia, Dean Emeritus forthe College of Education.Garcia reflected on the great

strides Latinos have made in edu-cation by citing notable Latinoswho paved the way for others, in-cluding the late Dr. Tomás Riverawho served as the first Latinochancellor at UC Riverside in the80s. “Today we welcome our own

Tomás,” he said of Morales. Morales began his remarks by

thanking CIELO for their warmwelcome, recognizing his family,including his wife Evy and sharingsome of his own journey. Born in Puerto Rico, Morales’

parents migrated to the Bronx inNew York. Morales said he was aproduct of the New York Cityschool system and obtained ahigher education through thestate’s Educational OpportunityProgram. He and Evy grew up in the same

neighborhood in the Bronx and at-tended the same schools and thenmarried after their freshman yearin college. They are the parents ofa son “Tomasito”, Amanda andOmar, and the grandparents of Is-abella Rose, Sophia Lily and Dan-ica Noel. “I am excited that I am joining a

university of faculty who are emi-nently prepared academically intheir respective disciplines,”Morales said. “I have been so im-pressed with the number of facultywho engage students in their re-search and the number of aca-demic departments that sponsoractive learning communities. This focus on faculty-student col-

laboration is one reason whyCSUSB is a leader in the Califor-nia State University system in per-sistence and graduation rates ofstudents, particularly Latino,African American and other histor-ically underrepresented students.Morales noted the importance of

these accomplishments especially

in the Inland Empire, a region thathas the lowest percentage of col-lege graduates of any major USmetropolitan area. Morales went on to say that many

of our students come from familiesthat previously believed higher ed-ucation was out of reach, and that

more than 70 percent of graduatingstudents came from families inwhich neither parent had a collegedegree and that CSUSB now hasthe second-highest percentage ofAfrican American and Latino stu-dents among California public uni-versities. “I believe public institutions of

higher education are ‘stewards ofplace’ serving the public good andCal State San Bernardino, underthe leadership of the three presi-dents who have come before me,has historically done just that,”Morales continued. “It is in theDNA of CSUSB students, facultyand staff to serve others. This com-mitment, in large part, is what at-tracted me to the presidency ofCalifornia State University, SanBernardino. I welcome the oppor-tunity to join the extraordinary uni-versity community in providing aquality education for our studentsand, indeed, in supporting thework of our faculty and staff. Ihave always valued the nature ofmy work as an educator who trans-forms lives, and so I was naturallyattracted to a university that holdsthe same values.”

IECN PHOTO COURTESY MARTHA DÍAZ ZÚNIGA-CORPORATE ARTISTRYMorales welcome reception organizers from CIELO, Coalition ofInland Empire Latino Organizations. Clockwise from top left:Aaron Burgess, Lily Rivera, Frank Reyes, Eloise Reyes andDr. Tom Rivera.

IECN PHOTO COURTESY MARTHA DÍAZ ZÚNIGA-CORPORATE ARTISTRYOn Thursday, September 6 CSUSB and the community formallywelcomed its fourth president Dr. Tomás Morales during a re-ception at the Santos Manuel Student Union. About 800 peopleattended the event. He is the university's first Latino president.

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