Cal Lutheran’s Bright Spot in 2020–Student Success

Dear Students, Staff, and Faculty,
 
As 2020 draws to a close and we head toward a much-needed holiday break, I want to thank all of you for everything you have done this year.
 
Much of that work is highlighted in the just-completed 2019-2020 Annual Report. This report documents achievements accomplished before I arrived. It is now my responsibility to work with you to advance the progress that has been charted in many areas and kick-start movement in other areas.
 
What most stands out to me in reports like this is our effort to spotlight student success. This is the single most important focal point of our work. It gives me great pleasure to keep it front and center as we wrap up this year and head into what we all hope is a much better one next year.
 
As we look forward to 2021 with a sense of much-needed optimism, let’s savor some of our 2020 accomplishments such as these:

• School of Management accreditation. The global Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs notified us in November that it granted us full accreditation without conditions. As part of their review, the Council noted several areas of strength, including our effective retention programs and strong support system of counseling, advising, tutoring, and other resources for students. It is no surprise that these areas are integrally tied to student success.
  
  
• Student Support Services. This federally funded TRIO grant program that supports first-generation and income-qualified students, as well as students with disabilities, continues to build on its impressive track record in fostering student success. In a report recently submitted to the Department of Education, we documented a 98% persistence rate and 83% graduation rate for low-income and first-generation college students at Cal Lutheran.
  
  
• Hispanic-Serving Institution grant programs. We tailored resources to better address the needs of students who are underrepresented in higher education in multiple ways. ALLIES in STEM provided a free, three-week summer bridge program to give incoming students a jump-start. As part of Project CHESS, we finished construction of a new Transfer Student Center that will open in 2021 and offered the first courses revamped by our faculty to be more culturally responsive during the fall semester. These programs help us actualize our commitment to serve, not merely recruit, students who come from underrepresented backgrounds.
  
  
• AmeriCorps. Our inaugural cohort of 25 AmeriCorps Fellows were installed during fall semester. The State of California is partnering with Cal Lutheran and seven other universities for this first-in-the-nation program to help students pay for college through public service that addresses pressing challenges in their region. The level of financial support associated with this program will help our AmeriCorps Fellows make timely progress towards their degree while accumulating the type of hands-on, highly relevant experience employers and graduate schools value.

Student success will continue to be our guiding principle in 2021. As we move forward, let our decisions and actions be based on how we can best serve students in fulfillment of our mission: to educate leaders for a global society who are strong in character and judgment, confident in their identity and vocation, and committed to service and justice.
 
On that note, let me wish all of you a happy and healthy holiday season. May it usher in the peace and joy we yearn for now more than ever.

Lori E. Varlotta, Ph.D.
President