Twenty-three universities are expected to receive a share of $4.6 million to advance Black student success in California.
Dr. Dilcie Perez
The California State University (CSU) recently announced the one-time allocation ($4,630,846) as part of the university system’s $10 million, three-year Black Student Success funding commitment. It will help fund programs and projects that meet recommendations outlined in the Black Student Success report released in June 2023. The report re-evaluates supports for Black students and addresses trends in low Black student enrollment, retention, and graduation rates.
“With a primary focus on ensuring that Black students attain their academic goals and are positioned for a lifetime of success, we also intend this funding to strengthen enrollment and retention efforts, improve classroom experiences, and bolster staff and faculty development across the system,” said CSU Chancellor Dr. Mildred García.
The system and its universities collaborated on a systemwide inventory, assessing existing efforts — including current campus practices, services, and resources — compared to the Black Student Success report’s 13 recommendations, such as creating systemwide policies on addressing unprofessional conduct that diminishes Black student success but falls short of the Title IX or discrimination, harassment, and retaliation thresholds.
The Systemwide Campus Inventory and Campus Action Items Highlights, available on the CSU’s Black Student Success website, includes a listing of awarded projects to be implemented by May 2025.
The universities self-assessment of campus offerings highlighted areas of strengths as well as opportunities for growth, cross-campus collaboration, and innovation in supporting Black students, said Dr. Dilcie Perez, deputy vice chancellor of Academic and Student Affairs and Chief Student Affairs Officer. “We are committed to increasing the opportunities for Black students to attain the life-changing benefits of a CSU degree,” said Perez, “and that can only begin when we are accountable to each other and to our students.”
