Dear Campus Community,

As spring begins, we continue to celebrate the diversity of our campus and community members. March is Women’s History Month and I was honored to speak during the American Council on Education Women’s Network Northern California Conference this month. I enjoyed seeing so many women leaders from regional universities for candid talks about how to support women in leadership roles. I strongly believe having diversity in our leadership widens our perspectives and deepens our compassion for others.

At CSUMB, we value equity and I am pleased that more than 50 percent of our faculty and staff are women. We are also fortunate to have many talented women in leadership roles on our campus and I am honored to be the first woman of color to be named president of this campus.

This week we celebrated Nowruz, a Persian New Year's celebration. As we strive to be a welcoming and inclusive place, I was so happy to see the Otter Dining Commons provide a variety of Persian dishes to celebrate. Families use seven food items at the table for New Year to represent beauty, good health, patience, spring, new life, rebirth and prosperity. I wish all of my fellow otters an abundance of all of these things this spring.

Ramadan Mubarak to all of our Muslim students, faculty and staff. Today marks the start of Ramadan, the holiest of months for Muslims, and a month-long tradition of fasting during daylight hours. To accommodate students, Otter Express will be selling Suhoor packs for students March 22-April 21. On April 23, the Otter Cross Cultural Center (OC3) will host Eid-al-Fitr in the Otter Student Union Ballroom from 4 to 6 p.m. to celebrate the end of Ramadan.

On April 8, from 10 a.m. to noon, faculty and staff and their families are invited to an Easter open house at University House. We will host three egg hunts for different age groups. 

We will continue to have opportunities to celebrate our culture and heritage this spring so please keep an eye on My Raft or the events site for upcoming events and check the listings for the Otter Cross Cultural Center as well as the Office of Inclusive Excellence and Sustainability.

Next week will be spring break so enjoy the quiet week and be ready to finish out the semester when you return!

Vanya Quiñones
President
California State University, Monterey Bay