What will $55 million from California budget fund at Stanislaus State’s Stockton campus?
The Stanislaus State University campus in Stockton will receive $55 million through the 2021-22 state budget to upgrade buildings, expand academic programs and increase enrollment by 115 students.
State Sen. Susan Eggman, D-Stockton, and Assemblymember Carlos Villapudua, D-Stockton, championed the funding, according to a Stan State press release.
“Investing in our students and higher education has shown to pay dividends down the line,” Villapudua said in the release. “These prioritizations help to prepare them to play an active role in our future workforce and fuel our economic prosperity for generations to come.”
In comparison, Stan State’s main campus in Turlock received $4.3 million in new funding, spokeswoman Donna Birch Trahan said in an email. The new funds are designated to support ethnic studies courses, the CSU’s Graduation Initiative 2025 and other mandatory costs such as health care premium increases and facilities maintenance, Trahan said. About $7 million was restored from budget cuts made during the previous budget year.
The state funding will expand programs and majors at the Stockton campus. Trahan said university officials will “engage the community and evaluate market research to identify new programs that will meet the needs and demands of the regional workforce.“
“This investment will create real educational and economic opportunities in the very near future, while building further momentum for a full CSU Stockton!” Eggman said in the release.
For the fall semester, 963 students are enrolled in at least one course at the Stockton campus, Trahan said.
“Stanislaus State is committed to expanding affordable, high-quality educational opportunities and programs for Stockton and San Joaquin County residents,” university President Ellen Junn said in the release. “This significant investment in the Stockton Campus will help us better serve the needs of the community.”
The money also will allow university officials to develop a new facility and enhance the Acacia building, renovate the Magnolia Mansion, create a long-term plan for the campus and support the Community Equity Research Center.
Although the equity center will not directly receive funding from the state, it will “benefit from facilities enhancement at the Stockton Campus location,” Trahan said. Faculty members hired to expand programs at the Stockton campus can be involved in research through the center.
This story was originally published August 18, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
