CSU Dominguez Hills' Accreditation Reaffirmed Through 2018

The accreditation of California State University, Dominguez Hills has been reaffirmed by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). The university was awarded the highest possible evaluation from WASC, receiving a 10-year reaccreditation, the maximum term awarded.

In its letter reaffirming accreditation, WASC commended CSU Dominguez Hills for the “extraordinary range of courses, programs and other activities that reflect the institution’s commitment to diversity,” adding that the visiting evaluation team noted the university’s creative approach to diversity, known as interactional diversity, was a “concept worthy of greater exploration and dissemination in the academy.”

“WASC and their team of reviewers commended our campus community and gave emphasis to their satisfaction with CSU Dominguez Hills. We are taking the necessary steps as a community to do whatever it takes to be the university that is the role model for the country, a university that prepares a diverse student body to live in a democratic society,” said University President Mildred García.

For more information about the WASC process, visit the
CSUDH WASC website.

CSUDH Alumna Karen Bass Speaks
at Budget Town Hall

More than 450 community members, special interest groups, and local dignitaries were on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills July 29 for a town hall to discuss the state budget. The public forum, which took place in the Dominguez Ballroom of the Loker Student Union, was led by Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles), local representative Assemblyman Warren Furutani (D-Carson), and state Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles), who discussed their stance on the budget and answered questions from the audience.

CSUDH president Dr. Mildred García welcomed the crowd and introduced Speaker Bass, who received her bachelor’s degree from CSU Dominguez Hills (Class of ’90, B.S., health sciences).

“We are so very proud that she graduated from Cal State University, Dominguez Hills, and is a role model to our students and this state and this nation,” said García.

Bass is the first African American woman and first female Democrat to hold the position of Speaker of the California Assembly. She is also the first African American woman elected to lead a legislative body in the United States. This was her first visit to the South Bay region since elected to the office.

Assemblyman Furutani opened the session with a presentation on the budget process and the various components of the proposed budget currently before the Assembly. He made the case that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposed budget is characterized by numerous cuts to education, healthcare, and public safety, and that the Democrats have a different solution to bridge the $15.2 billion gap in the state’s $101 billon general budget.

California began its fiscal year on July 1 without a budget. Speaker Bass stressed that a resolution is needed soon to avoid “extremely expensive borrowing.” Bass updated the audience on the latest negotiations, saying that the debate now centers around what type of revenue will be increased, along with cuts, to help balance the budget.

“We hope to have a budget resolution in the next couple of weeks,” she said.

Bass also told the crowd that after a budget is passed, she will push to find a permanent solution to the state’s budget problems, cautioning that without one, “we’ll be right back here next year.” She hopes to perform a thorough review of the budget and establish a bipartisan tax commission for an overall budget reform.

For more information on the state budget situation, visit the California Dept. of Finance website.

- Joanie Harmon and Amy-Bentley Smith

Tatsumi Paredes: Internship Put Her at the Wheel of Automotive Career

When Tatsumi (Kotow) Paredes (Class of ’98, B.A., English, magna cum laude) was a student at California State University, Dominguez Hills, she interned at Nissan in consumer affairs, answering the busy customer service hotline. The experience gave the Gardena native valuable lessons in dealing with difficult situations, an education that has served her well while climbing the corporate ladder in a traditionally male-dominated field.

Prior to her student internship, the Gardena native had not considered the automotive industry as a career. Paredes is now the senior dealer market planner at Toyota Financial Services, which is located at the company’s American sales and marketing headquarters in Torrance.

While at CSU Dominguez Hills, Paredes served as the Associated Students, Inc. upper division representative and was in the Honors Program. She received several scholarships while at Dominguez Hills, including the Presidential Scholarship and the University Merit Scholarship (now the Faculty and Staff Scholarship).

“A lot of people helped pay for my education,” she says. “Someday, I really want to give back to Dominguez and form a scholarship so people can go to college and not worry about money. . . I appreciate all the help that I got. It made a big difference.”

- Joanie Harmon

Governor Pat Brown signed the bill for a state college to be known as South Bay State College on April 29, 1960.

The University first opened its doors in 1965 in Palos Verdes. The following year, the new college moved to its present site in Carson on land formerly a part of Rancho Dominguez, a 1784 land grant to a Spanish soldier Juan Jose Dominguez.