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Social Mobility Symposium

Symposium Agenda

Thursday, October 5, 2023 

7 - 8 a.m. - Registration & Breakfast  

8:15 a.m. - Welcomes 

  • Viridiana Diaz, Ed.D. - Vice President of Student Affairs, California State University San Marcos
  • Symposium Emcee - Wenda Fong, Chair, CSU Board of Trustees
  • Ellen Neufeldt, Ed.D., President, California State University San Marcos 

Welcome Plenary - The State of Social Mobility 

  • Mildred García, Ed.D., Chancellor of the California State University 

Remarks from the U.S. Department of Education - Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education

  • Nasser Paydar, Ph.D., Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education

Remarks from Office of the President pro Tempore  

  • Senator Toni G. Atkins 

Dual-enrollment, Opening the Doors to Upward Mobility

  • Eloy Ortiz Oakley, President and CEO of College Futures 

Unleashing the Potential of Minority Serving Institutions for Economic Mobility 

  • Wil Del Pilar, Ph.D., Senior Vice President for Higher Education, The Education Trust
  • This session will explore the critical role that Minority Serving Institutions play in driving economic mobility for students of color. The session will include a look at recent data and an approach to program evaluation that centers students and aims to push us toward innovation and continuous improvement. 

Stretch Break  

Community-College-to-Four-Year-University Pathway and Best Practices 

  • Star Rivera-Lacey, Ph.D., Superintendent/President, Palomar Community College District  

Higher Education's Role in Advancing Social Mobility 

  • Moderator: Star Rivera-Lacey, Ph.D., Superintendent/President, Palomar Community College District  
  • Ramona Meraz Lewis, Ed.D. – Master Faculty Specialist, Western Michigan University 
  • Sonja Ardoin, Ph.D., – Associate Professor, Clemson University
  • Eduardo Arellano, Ph.D. – Associate Professor, University of Texas El Paso  
  • Jerry Anderson – Founder and Executive Director, Do School; Community Scholar - Winston-Salem State University’s Center for the Study of Economic Mobility 
  • Gloria Pindi, Ph.D. – Associate Professor, California State University San Marcos 

12:30 p.m. - Lunch  

Lightening Round Practices: Elevating Social Mobility 

  • Career Readiness & Social Mobility – Showcasing career-engaged department programming through the (Center for Effective Teaching and Learning at California State University, Los Angeles)
    • Amy Bippus, Ph.D., Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs
    • Grace Castillo, Ed.D., Interim Vice President for Student Life 
    • Michelle M. Lovasz, Executive Director of the Career Center at California State University, Los Angeles
    • Catherine Haras, Executive Director of the Center for Effective Teaching and Learning, California State University, Los Angeles
  • Workforce Development: Center for Training, Research, and Educational Excellence at California State University San Marcos
    • Denise Garcia, Ph.D., Professor & Director
    • Richard Armenta, Ph.D., MPH, Associate Professor & Associate Director
  • Sneak peek of The State of American Indian and Alaska Native Report
    • Joely Proudfit, Director California Indian Culture & Sovereignty Center and Department Chair and Professor, American Indian Studies
  • Q&A  

K-12 Opportunities & Pipeline Programs: Youth Leadership Institute 

  • Yammilette Rodriguez, Board of Trustees, The California State University & Senior Director, Youth Leadership Institute 

Networking Break 

Student & Alumni Panel 

  • Moderator: Georj L. Lewis, Ed.D., President, Clayton State University 

Define American 

  • Jose Antonio Vargas – Board of Trustees, The California State University & Founder – Define American 

Wrap Up of the Day - Thoughts and Reflections: San Diego Economic Development Corp. 

  • Mark Cafferty, President & CEO – San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp. 

5:00 – 7:00 p.m. - Reception – University Student Union (USU) Rooftop 

Friday, October 6, 2023 

7:15 - 8 a.m. – Networking Breakfast 

8:05 a.m. – Welcome

California Leading the Way: Student Success from Cradle to Career 

  • Ben Chida, Chief Deputy Cabinet Secretary at Office of Governor Gavin Newsom 

Remarks from United States Congressman 

  • Congressman Scott Peters, California’s 50th District 

The San Marcos Triangle -- How U.S. Higher Education Can Inspire the World's First Soft Landing for Economic Divergence 

  • Jim Wolfston, Chief Executive Officer, CollegeNET 
  • New research by Price and Edwards of the RAND Corporation shows that since 1975 the US has undertaken a radical experiment in wealth transfer: $50T from the bottom 90% of workers to the top 1%. Given that education is the top rung in the ladder for economic opportunity, we now hold the power to reverse higher education’s complicity in economic divergence and thereby inspire the world’s first soft landing for economic inequality. We will describe the innovation of the “San Marcos Triangle”:  a) shifting the value system in US higher education from the pursuit and celebration of wealth and its proxies; b) reweighting traditional campus honor of “knowledge” into balance and respect for the equal dignity and isomorphism across each person’s infinite unknown; and c) inventing the technologies that give all students the opportunity to attack their personal unknown not just through the accretion of knowledge, but through the exploration of its origins, limitations, and exceptions.    

Our Future: Accelerating Latino Student Success & College Completion 

  • Deborah A. Santiago, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Excelencia in Education, member of the ACE Carnegie Classification Technical Review Panel 
  • Jason Cordova, Senior Program Officer, The James Irvine Foundation 
  • Discussant: Jessica Berger, Vice President of University Advancement, California State University San Marcos & Executive Director, CSUSM Foundation

Networking Break 

Remarks from Luke Wood, Ph.D. - President, Sacramento State University 

Panel of Presidents 

  • Tomás D. Morales, Ph.D., President, Cal State San Bernardino
  • Melik Peter Khoury, DBA, President, Unity Environmental University
  • Lynnette Zelezny, Ph.D., President, California State University, Bakersfield
  • Georj L. Lewis, Ed.D., President, Clayton State University
  • Moderator: Patricia Prado-Olmos, Ph.D., Chief Community Engagement Officer, California State University San Marcos

Closing Remarks 

12 p.m. - Grab and Go Lunch & Tours

  • Innovation Hub 
  • Summer Scholars Laboratories 
  • Site of the future Integrated Science & Engineering Building