Anthony Victoria
With KVCR News, I'm Anthony Victoria. This is IE Latino Voices, where we take a look at the people and issues shaping our region.
Dr. Terri Gomez was recently announced as the new president of Cal State San Bernardino following the retirement of Dr. Tomas Morales at the end of the last academic year. Gomez has spent nearly 30 years in education and most recently served as provost at Cal Poly Pomona, a native of Colton and an alumnus of San Bernardino Valley College, she says she wants to give back to the region that helped shape her career.
Dr. Gomez, thank you so much for joining us today.
Dr. Terri Gomez
Thank you. I'm honored to be here.
Anthony Victoria
Why do you believe you're the right person to lead the university?
Dr. Terri Gomez
I gave a lot of thought to applying for the position. Being a president, especially in this climate, you have to enter it with your eyes wide open and know that you're doing it for the right reasons.
I had been at Cal Poly Pomona for 27 years. I loved working there. What brought me home to Cal State San Bernardino is exactly that. This is my home.
I'm the daughter of immigrants from Jalisco, Mexico, who came to this country in search of a better life. My mom has a third-grade education. My father a fifth-grade education. Yet they always emphasize the importance of education.
So the opportunity to make a impact on this region in this role is such an honor, and I believe I'm the right person. I have the training, but I have the heart and the focus for what the IE needs.
Anthony Victoria
Before the interview, you mentioned sort of the makeup of the campus, right? The diversity there. Can you elaborate on what that looks like?
Dr. Terri Gomez
Our campus is 71% Latinx students. That's up from 68% last year. So we're growing, which is a reflection of the region.
We're also almost 80% first-generation students. So for me, I want to work with this population. That's my reflection, right? I was a first-generation community college student.
You know, one of my most important identities is a transfer student. I think that's really important. Half of our students are transfer students, but the ability to change the life of a first-gent student is such an incredible opportunity, and it's work I want to do.
It's not just changing the life of that student, but their family, their community, and here in the IE, it's about regional impact. So that opportunity is incredibly important for me.
Anthony Victoria
Absolutely. And I know that there's other concerns from the campus community. For example, students are worried about affordability, and then faculty are raising questions about transparency, things like working conditions and their class sizes. How do you plan to approach this as the new leader of the campus?
Dr. Terri Gomez
Thank you for that. Let's deal with affordability.
We’re launching something we're calling Coyotes Covered. It's our affordability plan. 70% of our students will be fully covered for tuition and fees.
So I want to ensure our students and their families know that when they're making that decision, whether they're going to first start at community college and then transfer or go straight to a CSU, that affordability is not the reason they don't choose the CSU.
With the issue of transparency, I'm doing 100-day listening tour where I'm going to every corner of that campus to listen. I want to know what we're doing right, and I want to know what barriers we're putting up that aren't necessary.
I'm going to have three forums on the campus each semester, so six a year. The first one, it's next month, is on budget.
Every other week, I do lunches with whoever wants to join me. So there's a sign up. Nine people, students, faculty, staff can sign up to have lunch.
We're also doing regular office hours with the president and a cabinet member, where we sit there and people can come in and ask their hard questions, and we need to answer them. And if we don't have the answers there, we will come back with the answers.
So addressing transparency is a priority for me.
Anthony Victoria
Absolutely, and my last question, President. We're in such a difficult time. There's a lot of polarization, arguably. The cost of living is rising. Programs that tend to support communities like the Latino community, especially Latino students, are dwindling because of federal cuts. How, as president, do you plan to navigate those challenges as well and support students?
Dr. Terri Gomez
I am chief advocate, chief storyteller, right, for this campus, chief protector. I'm going to continue to tell the story of success of our students and advocate for what they need.
Some of that is going to be redirecting funds. Some of that is going to be more creative with working with philanthropic organizations to fund things that we know have impact.
I know who we serve and the importance of making sure they have all the scaffolding of support so that they're successful.
Anthony Victoria
Well, President Gomez, thank you so much for coming on. Really appreciate it.
Dr. Terri Gomez
Thank you.
Anthony Victoria
Dr. Terri Gomez is the new president at California State University San Bernardino.
Join us again next week for IE Latino Voices. You can find this story and others on our website at kvcr.org/IELatinoVoices.
IE Latino Voices is produced by KVCR Public Media and is funded by generous support from the CIELO Fund at IECF, uplifting and investing in the IE's Latino community.
