August 21, 2007

Cal State Fullerton students head back to class
Some 35,000 expected to attend this fall.
By MARLA JO FISHER
The Orange County Register

FULLERTON – Cal State Fullerton was a bustling place Monday morning, as students started their first day of classes for the fall semester, stood in lines at the bookstore and bought parking passes.

“It feels so good to be here,” said Gena Lay, 23, of Fullerton, after emerging from her morning class. “It’s a nice break to not be at work, after working all summer. But don’t tell my boss that.”

Chapman University begins classes next week, while students at UC Irvine don’t return until October. But Fullerton was in full swing Monday.

Students exiting the freeway onto Nutwood Avenue couldn’t help but notice the biggest change, the huge new $64 million Mihaylo Hall business lecture and classroom building, still under construction, that now dominates the southeastern corner of the campus.

On the other side of campus, north of the Titan Student Union, is the other major construction project, a student-funded new recreation center slated to open in January.

The university is likely to remain the most populous in the 23-campus CSU system this year, with an estimated 35,000 students expected to attend this fall at the Fullerton and Irvine campuses. It is the second largest public university in the state, after UCLA.

Fullerton is one of the few CSU campuses with room to grow, due to the upper-division courses offered at the closed El Toro Marine Corps Air Station in Irvine. Officials are hoping to win the right to build a permanent branch there.

New programs for 2007-2008 include a master’s degree in social work, a four-year nursing degree for non-nurses and an independent doctorate in education.

Angeline Valdez, 18, of Baldwin Park, was among the freshmen spending her first day at the university. After her morning classes, she sat on the lawn in front of a drop-off spot, waiting for her ride home.

“My dad brought me today, because my cousin told me sometimes you have to wait two hours to park on the first day, and I didn’t want to have to deal with that,” Valdez said. “Today has been exciting, and kind of scary.”

Valdez said she spent about $300 to buy textbooks for only three of her five classes. The university bookstore has been experimenting with rental books and also digital books that can be purchased and downloaded online, to help reduce the cost for students.

This year, university officials are also hyping their golden anniversary with a yearlong series of events designed to showcase how far the campus has come in the last 50 years. The former Orange County State College didn’t actually begin classes until 1959, but the state Legislature approved the new school in 1957.

The first event begins Sept. 14, with a weekend of concerts and open houses to which alumni are invited.

Few students interviewed Monday as they emerged from their first classes of the season knew or cared about the anniversary.

“Oh, that’s nice,” graduate teaching student Faye Sacramento said about the celebration, as she emerged from picking up movie tickets. “I didn’t really know about it, but I’ll go if it’s free.”

50th anniversary celebration

What it’s about: In 1957, the state Legislature voted to build California’s 12th state college. Orange County State College was to be located in Fullerton, disappointing neighboring Anaheim city leaders who had even renamed a street as State College Boulevard in anticipation of winning the bid for the new campus. Classes would not begin until 1959.

What it will include: The university is holding its kickoff weekend Sept. 14 through Sept. 16 with a concert, fireworks, university-wide open house and alumni homecoming. Over the coming year, other events, to be announced, will take place.

CSUF’s academic year at a glance

Estimated student enrollment: About 35,000. CSUF is currently the largest university in the CSU system by enrollment and the second largest public university in California.

Major construction:

* Mihaylo Hall business school, $64 million, 200,000 square feet, opening fall 2008
* Student Recreation Center: $41 million, 95,000 square feet, opening January 2008

Some campus goals this year:

* Continue to improve Irvine campus, negotiate contract for permanent satellite campus
* Hire as many new faculty members as possible, replacing retirees and adding courses
* Find ways to make textbooks more affordable for students
* Grow endowment and increase donations to the campus, particularly from alumni