When Janet Dial arrived at California State University at Los Angeles in 2014, the fund-raising operation she was taking over was still a work in progress. Fourteen employees staffed the university’s advancement office, with four additional positions unfilled. The university had recently paid for new database software to help it track alumni and search for potential donors, but it was still neglecting some key best practices for raising money. As a result, Cal State-LA was lagging behind some of its neighbors. Its endowment stood at about $25 million, and each year it raised about $5 million. By contrast, the University of California at Los Angeles, on the more affluent west side of town, ... Read More
Administration
President Parham Named Among L.A. County’s Most Influential
THOMAS A. PARHAM President California State University, Dominguez Hills Thomas Parham took office as president of Cal State Dominguez Hills in July, after serving as vice chancellor for student affairs and an adjunct faculty member at the University of California, Irvine. He was at UCI since 1985, and previously was on the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. The licensed psychologist served on the City of Irvine’s Human Relations Committee, where he helped draft the city’s first human rights ordinance, which was passed by the city council. He served as chair of UCI’s Martin Luther King Jr. Symposium for 10 years. He participated in the 2005 State of the Black ... Read More
CSUDH’s Accreditation Reaffirmed for a Maximum 10-Year Term
(Carson, CA) California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) has had its accreditation reaffirmed for a maximum 10-year term by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Senior Commission for Universities and Colleges (WSCUC), the regional accrediting agency responsible for certifying higher education institutions in California, Hawaii, and the Pacific. “Accreditation confirms CSUDH’s commitment to the highest standards of academic excellence,” said CSUDH President Thomas A. Parham. “To receive WSCUC’s full, 10-year accreditation is further testament to the outstanding work everyone on this campus does on a daily basis to ensure our students receive the very best ... Read More
Incoming President Thomas A. Parham Brings a Fresh Infusion of Energy
When Thomas A. Parham joins California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) as president on July 16 he will grab the reins at a very energetic time in the university’s history. Over the last decade, CSUDH has grown physically and academically, bolstering its long-standing mission to be a vehicle for upward mobility and an influential presence in Los Angeles County. Parham will spend the first months of his presidency engaging the campus community. He plans to meet with faculty, staff, student groups, alumni, the CSUDH foundations, and the broader community to seek pathways for a fresh infusion of energy to further the university’s trajectory. “There is a high degree of congruence ... Read More
New Cal State Dominguez Hills president stands on legacy of fairness, faith, equality
In a Sunday church sermon and with characteristic boldness, the current vice chancellor of UCI and future president of Cal State Dominguez Hills made his ambition clear. Thomas Parham, who will take the reins of CSUDH next month, vowed to transform the university into “a destination campus, not a default campus.” Parham went on to declare he plans to turn 1.9 grade average students into students with 2.5 grade averages, to build 3.6 students into PhDs. If it sounds like the same old rhetoric, it’s not. Parham was like no other vice chancellor at UCI and it’s certain he won’t be like any other public university president when he leads at Cal State Dominguez Hills. How’s this ... Read More
