Cal State Fullerton President García Mildred was applauded April 27 as a trailblazer, along with the five other women presidents leading campuses in the California State University system.
They all received Trailblazer Awards from the Pasadena-based Leadership California during the organization’s Legacy and Leadership Awards 2015 ceremony held at the Omni Los Angeles Hotel.
The Trailblazer Award honors a California woman leader who is “a pioneer in her field, exemplifying a spirit of exploration and groundbreaking achievement that leads the way for others.”
Speaking in praise of all six CSU presidents for “this well-deserved recognition,” CSU Chancellor Timothy White told the audience: “These women are a big part of the fact that the CSU has three million living alumni, mostly in California.”
He credited the presidents with working “tirelessly to ensure that all students have an opportunity to learn both within the university and within their community. The students benefit from this amazing educational experience, and they gain inspiration from their learning and their social environments, and they become lifelong agents of positive change in California and for America,” he said.
“These presidents encourage students to become well-rounded, to be globally focused analytical problem-solvers to work with a penchant for civic engagement and for community outreach,” he added. “We have 460,000 students in the California State University, and over 56 percent are women. So these women, in particular, and all of our students across the board, look to these six presidents for leadership, for mentorship, for wisdom and for guidance.”
He spoke of their “remarkable strength and clarity as they individually and collectively bring a reservoir of experience and talent to their campus, to their community and, indeed, to their country every day and — as a president of a campus — every night.”
White ended his remarks with congratulations and thanks to the six “for your steadfast dedication to equity, to opportunity and to student success … for being exceptional leaders for the women and men of this university and of California, and for inspiring all of us to be better as we, together, both create and serve California’s future.”
The event was co-chaired by Linda Alvarez, former news anchor for KCBS, and Janet Clayton, senior vice president, corporate communications for Edison International.
Other honorees saluted at the event: Los Angeles Supervisor Hilda Solis, former labor secretary, who received the Legacy of Service Award; YWCA’s Faye Washington, recipient of the Community Leader Award; and UPS, recipient of the Corporate Leader Award.
More photos on Flickr.