With a decidedly accessible and conversational approach that has been a hallmark of her presence at Stan State, Junn reviewed her core principals and recapped a few highlights of her first nine weeks before introducing the concepts that will guide the University’s success in the coming years.
Utilizing a PowerPoint presentation and web-based polling of the overflow audience inside Snider Recital Hall, Junn addressed many issues facing the campus while maintaining a theme of open discussion and collaboration as the University continues to move forward.
“When I came to this campus, I immediately felt that sense of community,” Junn said. “This convocation address is not simply me talking at you. I want to find out a little bit more about you and the campus.”
Junn established and explained her five goals of University governance: improving student success; supporting faculty and staff success; enhancing the University’s function in the region; building strong partnerships with the community; and celebrating, recognizing and having fun while doing it.
She spoke of her whirlwind first 60 days, which included personally meeting more than 675 people and opening a dialogue with the Faculty Senate to begin working on a new University Strategic Plan. In addition, she has introduced and established a charge for a presidential transition team and — in her most visible move — reintroduced Freshman Convocation after a 12-year absence.
“The day provided the opportunity for our freshmen to meet with campus administrators, faculty and alumni collectively,” she said. “They learned about the resources available to them directly from our academic departments and programs, providing further assistance on how to navigate to their ultimate goal of a college degree.”
The Freshman Convocation, she said, was an early step toward encouraging and providing the means for students to pursue a four-year degree path, which is an emphasis throughout the California State University system. The four-year graduation rate at Stanislaus State currently is 12 percent. The goal is to boost the rate to 37 percent by 2025.
Later, during a press conference, Junn explained a possible approach to helping the four-years-to-graduation effort. She said there is data-crunching technology available that would allow the University to anticipate when additional sections of core classes are needed to meet demand, since class availability often is cited by students as a barrier to achieving a degree in four years. She added that the University budget must be aligned in a way that will allow these sections to be added quickly.
But in addition, Junn said that students must play a key role in the effort by seeking the help of advisors.
“Key to all of this is that the students take advice,” Junn said. “They have advisors, but many choose to advise themselves. It can slow them down and burn their financial aid in a way that doesn’t help them. I want to help students get easier access to high-level advising, and to help them understand that it’s a two-way street.”