Four years, 75% completed – Strategic plan changes the SDSU landscape

The 5-year plan launched in August 2020. Since then, the university has seen record-breaking levels of external funding for research, new buildings and other construction underway, significant improvements to student success metrics, including graduation rates, and a large suite of new academic program offerings, centers and institutes, faculty and staff hires and donor support.

“We called the strategic plan ‘We Rise We Defy’ because it was designed to honor SDSU’s historic achievements and core values, but also to redefine what is possible for this university,” said SDSU President Adela de la Torre, who will speak during the celebration.

“We set ambitious goals to make SDSU one of the foremost public research universities in the nation, while maintaining our core commitments of access and excellence for San Diego and for California,” de la Torre said.

Achievements directly resulting from, or influenced by, the strategic plan are numerous. Some of the highlights include:

• Increasing the four-year graduation rate to 57.9% from 49% ten years ago; and the six-year rate to 78.3% from 74.3% over the same period, with many colleges now exceeding 80% graduation rates.
• The introduction of several new centers in support of student recruitment, retention, academic success and community building. These include the Native Resource Center and the Undocumented Resource Center, the Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) Center, the Pierce Greek Life Center and the Center for Graduate Life and Diversity.
• STEM Forward, which connects research initiatives and existing and new financial investments for STEM, to include buildings at SDSU Mission Valley and the Sciences and Engineering Laboratories, set to open in fall 2025 at SDSU Imperial Valley.
• Increased investment in faculty Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity (RSCA), intramural funding and research advancement through the Division for Research and Innovation at more than $7 million in new support since fiscal year 2021.
• Nineteen NSF Career Awards for faculty since the start of the strategic plan (33 overall in the history of SDSU).
• my.SDSU, which launched to align student information systems and has since streamlined the enrollment, registration, financial aid and student accounts processes.
• During the 2022-23 academic year, the university secured $192 million in research grants and contracts, marking a more than 40% increase compared to the 2018-19 academic year. All told, since 2018, the university has secured more than $790 million in grants and contracts.
• $137 million in gifts provided to the university by donors last year, totaling $650 million raised in gifts over just five years.
• An expansion of our SDSU Employee Resource Groups to 18, which collectively have nearly 600 faculty and staff members.
• Creation of the SDSU Budget Hub as a central location to host budget information including budget committee updates, budget processes, budget dashboards, budget reports, and budget training resources.
• A brand redesign and new, centralized communications and marketing tools and resources, many of which are available through Brand Portal, to support faculty and staff in promoting their research, college and department successes and student achievements to local, national and international audiences.
• Every division and college has a standing unit-level diversity council, and every division, college and academic department has a unit-level diversity plan. These plans are reviewed and approved by the University Senate Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee.
• The opening of both Snapdragon Stadium and the River Park at SDSU Mission Valley.
• Following years of SDSU leaders advocating for the ability to offer independent doctorates, Gov. Gavin Newson signed Assembly Bill (AB) 656. The bill permits universities in the California State University (CSU) system, including SDSU, to now offer independent professional and applied doctoral degrees. Earlier, Sen. Ben Hueso authored SB 684, which was signed. SDSU was approved to add independent Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) programs – and therefore launched two new degree programs that will be available in fall 2024 – as part of its vast academic degree offerings in the health sciences.
• Four new academic programs having been launched at SDSU Imperial Valley, to include the accelerated pre-licensure Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Bachelor of Science in Public Health.
• Five new partnerships SDSU formed with institutions in Latin America, to include the Center for Mesoamerican Studies in Oaxaca and MOUs with Biblioteca de Investigacion Juan de Cordova in Oaxaca, the Archivo General del Estado de Oaxaca, and Municipio de Tijuana.

“Although we built and finalized the plan just months before the COVID-19 pandemic would push us into a shutdown, we have made tremendous progress, and we have done so in a relatively short time,” said Jennifer Imazeki, Associate Vice President for Faculty and Staff Diversity and the Strategic Plan Celebration Committee Chair.

“Over the years, hundreds of faculty, staff, students and administrators have been involved in strategic planning and other efforts,” said Imazeki, also a Senate Distinguished Professor of Economics. “What we have achieved together so far is a reflection of the perseverance, dedication and commitment from each member of our one SDSU community, and will have a lasting impact.”

The Feb. 26 celebration will be held at the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union. In the event of rain, the event will move inside to Montezuma Hall and the Union Theatre in the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union. For a comprehensive listing of strategic plan activities and outcomes, visit the We Rise We Defy: Transcending Borders, Transforming Lives strategic plan site.