Milestones | Farewell to President Richard R. Rush

2001

(June) President Rush assumes his duties as university president;
(Aug) First 13 planning faculty members arrive on campus

2002

(March) Academic Master Plan approved;
(April) Inauguration ceremonies held for President Rush;
(Aug) Opening ceremonies held for the University and first 250 transfer students begin classes

2003

(May) Inaugural Commencement ceremony with three transfer students honored as first to graduate;
(Aug) Inaugural freshman students begin classes;
(Sept) Grand opening and dedication of new science building, Aliso Hall

2004

(June) History and Psychology undergraduate degrees approved for launch;
(Aug) Grand opening and dedication of first on-campus housing for students, Anacapa Village;
(Oct) Economics and Chemistry undergraduate degrees approved for launch; master’s in Biotechnology/Bioinformatics, Business, and Education approved for launch

2005

(Jan) Dedication held for “Aspirations” a dolphin fountain and sculpture;
(May) First honorary doctorate degrees presented to John Spoor Broome and Robert J. Lagomarsino;
(Oct) Ground breaking ceremony for the John Spoor Broome Library

2006

(Jan) Naming of the first school as the Martin V. Smith School of Business & Economics;
(May) First group of master’s students graduate;
(Nov) Prop 1D is approved by California voters allocating $62 million for campus improvement projects

2007

(May) Inaugural freshman class graduates;
(Jul) WASC notification of initial accreditation granted for the maximum of seven years;
(Aug) Grand opening and dedication of student on-campus housing, Santa Cruz Village; Nursing program launched with first 66 students

2008

(April) Grand opening and dedication of the John Spoor Broome Library;
(Oct) Land swap adding another 153 acres to the University

2009

(April) Grand opening and dedication of the Martin V. Smith Center for Integrative Decision-Making; 360 acres of land adjacent to the campus transferred by the County of Ventura to the University;
(Aug) New formal and spirit logos launched

2010

(Feb) Launch of the California Institute for Social Business;
(March) Grand opening and dedication of the new Student Union;
(April) Designation by the U.S. Department of Education as an Hispanic Serving Institution;
(July) Named a “Great College to Work For” by The Chronicle of Higher Education;
(Oct) Ground breaking ceremony for Del Norte Hall;
(Nov) Launch of the Henry L. “Hank” Lacayo Institute for Workforce & Community Studies; Ground breaking ceremony for new entrance road

2011

(March) Launch of the Institute for Global Economic Research; WASC approval for undergraduate and graduate degrees in business to be offered in Santa Barbara;
(May) Ninth commencement ceremony held with honorary doctorate degree presented to Jack O’Connell
(June) Named to President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for Second Consecutive Year
(July) Named a Great College to Work for by The Chronicle of Higher Education for a second consecutive year.
(July) Sustainability Efforts Earn a Silver Rating from STARS
(Aug.) Awarded $1.86 million Stem Cell Research Training Grant
(Sept.) Awarded NASA Grant to Teach Climate Science in Local High Schools
(Oct.) 12^th Annual President’s Dinner held with Robert J. Lagomarsino Award presented to the Martin V. & Martha K. Smith Foundation and Smith Family.
(Oct.) Awarded $6 million Federal Grant to Encourage Science and Math Graduates.
(Oct.) Named a Military Friendly School

2012

(Feb.) Partnership established with the National Park Service for Santa Rosa Island to serve as research station – A California State University Channel Islands Undergraduate Research Campus.
(March) CI and Cottage Hospital Launch Santa Barbara County’s First Bachelor Degrees in Nursing.
(May 11) Dedication of new entrance road (University Drive)
(May 19) 10^th Commencement ceremony held in South Quad. Honorary Doctorate Degrees presented to Hank Lacayo and Kathy Ireland.
(June) Partnership with Santa Barbara City College brings new bachelor’s and MBA programs to Santa Barbara.
(July) Named a Great College to Work for by The Chronicle of Higher Education for a third consecutive year.
(Aug. 24) CI Celebrates 10^th Anniversary milestone during Convocation and year-long celebration as A Decade of Distinction.
(Aug. 27) First day of classes for the fall semester.
(Sept. 14) Dedication of Del Norte and Madera Halls. The $31.7 million project is the first state-funded construction on campus in more than a decade. Del Norte is a new three-story building featuring 120-seat lecture hall and three computer labs. Madera Hall underwent extensive renovation that preserved 80 percent of the original building and made room for 115 new faculty and program offices.
(Sept. 21) Dedication of the Peace Pole located in the Central Mall.
(Oct.) Named a Military Friendly School for a second consecutive year.
(Oct. 6) 13^th Annual President’s Dinner held with Robert J. Lagomarsino Award presented to Mike Curb.

2013

(Jan. 17) First day of classes for the spring semester.
(March 14) Chamber Mega Mixer and 10^th Anniversary Exhibit Unveiled in John Spoor Broome Library.
(April) Arbor Day Foundation named CI a first-time recipient of its “Tree Campus USA” designation.
(April) Named to President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for Fourth Consecutive Year
(April) CI participates for the first time in the City of Ventura’s Corporate Games, with over 80 employees competing over a six-week period in the division made up of the largest organizations in Ventura County. Biology lecturer Tom Schmidhauser earns a bronze medal for the 5k race in his age category.
(April 3) CI is presented with keys to the Channel Islands Boating Center at a public ceremony attended by the Ventura County Board of Supervisors and federal agencies.
(May 2) Springs Fire arrives burning all surrounding hillsides and requiring a campus evacuation and closure for two days.
(May 18) 11^th Commencement celebrated with two commencement ceremonies in the South Quad. An honorary doctorate degree was awarded to Lou Cannon, considered the foremost biographer of Ronald Reagan and a former White House correspondent.
(July) Named a Great College to Work for by The Chronicle of Higher Education for a fourth consecutive year.
(Oct.) Named a Military Friendly School for a third consecutive year.
(Oct. 5) 14^th Annual President’s Dinner held with Robert J. Lagomarsino Award presented to Steve Blois.
(Nov.) Announcement of $100,000 sponsorship gift from Union Bank.

2014

(Feb.) CI earned top national honors with a gold award from the Collegiate Advertising Awards for its “Together We Innovate – Join Us” total advertising campaign for colleges and universities with 5-10,000 students.
(March 14) Groundbreaking ceremony held for Sierra Hall, a three-story, 68,000 square foot cutting-edge science lab and instruction building located at the corner of Los Angeles Avenue and Ventura Street.
(April) The Princeton Review names CI as one of the nation’s most environmentally responsible “green” universities in this year’s “Guide to Green Colleges.”
(May 17) 12^th Commencement celebrated with two ceremonies in the South Quad with over 1,600 students participating and 12,000 parents, families and friends in attendance.
(Oct.) CI recognized by Washington Monthly as one of the top universities with “Bang for the Buck” rating.
(Nov. 24) CI breaks ground on the third phase of student housing – Santa Rosa Village which will provide 600 beds for freshmen students.
(Nov.) CI is one of eight CSU campuses selected to participate in a $4.6 million CSU Stem Collaborative grant.
(Nov.) Two new grants totaling more than $4.3 million from the U.S. Department of Education will help CI and regional community colleges collaborate to increase the readiness and success of transfer students.
(Nov.) CI’s Four Mission Pillars Mortar Board earns national award.
(Dec.) CI named one of the nation’s top universities for Hispanic students by BestColleges.com, an independent, research-based college-planning website for students and families.
(Dec.) A study by the National Survey of Student Engagement shows that CI students are overwhelmingly engaged and satisfied by their educational experience.
(Dec.) Military Advanced Education magazine names CI as a Top School in Military Advanced Education’s 2015 Guide to Colleges & Universities for the fourth year in a row.

2015

(Jan.) CI named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for the fifth year in a row.
(Jan.) CI partners with the City of Camarillo and Chamber of Commerce to serve as a host town for the Special Olympics World Games.
(March) CI receives $230,000 grant to expand the University’s co-teaching program.
(March) CI’s Division of Student Affairs is named one of the “15+ Most Promising Places to Work in Student Affairs 2015” by a national research and policy center based in Ohio.
(May) President Rush signs the American College and Universities Presidents’ Climate Commitment.
(July) CI receives approval from the Western Association for Schools and Colleges for its first doctoral program, a Doctorate of Education or Ed.D.
(July) The University receives reaccreditation for nine years by the Western Association for Schools and Colleges.
(July) CI is named a STARS Gold Institution by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.
(Aug.) CI gets $1.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to help low-income, first generation students or students with disabilities.
(Aug. 20) President Richard R. Rush announces his retirement. Upon serving 15 years as CI’s President, his last day in office will be June 30, 2016.
(Sept. 15) Grand opening of Sierra Hall, a three-story, 68,000 square-foot building designed to house the University’s science programs.
(Sept. 17) United Way of Ventura County awards President Richard R. Rush their Lifetime Achievement Award.
(Sept.) CI among seven universities honored as the “2015 Most Promising Places to Work in Student Affairs at Minority-Serving Institutions” by The Ohio State University Center for Higher Education in partnership with Diverse: Issues in Higher Education and the American College Personnel Association.
(Sept.) A $2.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education will enable CI to start a program called Project OLAS (Optimizing Learning, Achievement and Success), an initiative designed to help students navigate the first two years of college.
(Oct.) CI one of seven universities nationwide to be named an affiliate of The GRAMMY Museum’s® exhibitions, research programs, internship programs, collaborative marketing and a number of other immersive educational experiences.
(Oct.) CI’s chapter of the Gamma Beta Phi National Honor Society garnered the highest national honor as Exemplary Chapter of the Year for the second consecutive year, as well as Exemplary Chapter Award for the third consecutive year, and Advisor of the Year for the second consecutive year.
(Oct.) CI’s Four Pillars chapter of Mortar Board named for a second consecutive year among the nation’s top chapters for 2015 with the Silver Torch Award, presented to outstanding Mortar Board chapters that exemplify the ideals of scholarship, leadership and service.

2016

(Jan.) CI’s Division of Student Affairs is one of 19 universities and colleges in the nation as one of the “Most Promising Places to Work in Student Affairs” for a second year in a row by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, in partnership with the Center for Higher Education Enterprise at Ohio State University and the American College Personnel Association College Student Educators International.
(Feb.) CI among 44 colleges and universities chosen from across the nation to participate in a three-year project to “Re-Imagine the First Year of College” in partnership with the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.
(Feb.) A grant for $3,045,000 from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine will fund 10 CI graduate students per year with paid internships over the next five years.
(Feb.) CI’s 2025 Vision Plan earns the American Association of University Administrators, John L. Blackburn Award, which recognizes outstanding examples of university leadership that demonstrates creative solutions to common problems in higher education.