Rang the Bell at 12:13 pm
Pledge by Joe Scheimer
4-way Test recited
Thought of the Day –Jim Fritzsche believes that in business, the best service is the key to success. Wells Fargo went astray, Volkswagen went astray, Enron went astray. Success starts with the best service and letting the profit flow from that.
Introduction of Visiting Rotarians and Guests: Visiting from the Rotary Club of Point West: Joe Scheimer, Fair Oaks, Fighter Pilot Retired, and currently our Foundation Chair for the District. Also visiting is our speaker from Sac State, Dr. Jean-Francois Coget, Dean of the Business College.
Tax and Accounting Minute: Two stories in the Wall Street Journal in the last three weeks discussed the dearth of accountants in the industry. Jim has been an accountant for many years, but he knows for sure when accounting pay will go up – the day he retires. He is sure he is holding back pay increases in the industry, but he has to work a little bit longer. We need accountants, and it has to pay better.
Polio Eradication Initiative – Joe Scheimer presenting: In 1979 President Clem Renouf wanted to do bigger international projects. In 1985, Rotary set the worldwide goal of eliminating polio. In 1988 the Global Polio Eradication Initiative was set with UNICF, WHO, and others. In 1985 there were 350,000 cases, almost 1,000 per day. Slowly, we made great success and in 2001 there were only 6 cases. This year another case showed up in Afghanistan and 2 in Pakistan, so there are 9. District 5180 has 354 members in the Polio Prevention Club. The Polio Eradication program costs $1 billion a year, and Rotary raises $50 million to get a match from the Gates Foundation. John Germ’s goal is for each club to give more than $1,500. Our club gives more than that. We do it for the children so they may walk.
News:
- Marsha Vacca – shout out to all who assisted at the 5K Run with the Cops, Lewie, Marsha, Allison. Then we had the K9 service project to spread decomposed granite and mulch. Our workers were Jim, Lewie, Tim, Allison, Amy, and Marsha. They had lunch for us and they are grateful for our assistance, and our purchase of materials.
- Jim and Allison Fritzsche delivered our signed books to Tahoe Elementary School where the school library was re-dedicated after renovation.
- Amy and George coordinated a delivery of pumpkins to the North Highlands Community Center for the Park & Rec children.
Bell Ringers for the 23/24 year at $100, no immunity: Kevin Wilcox, Don Brodeur, Randy Smith, Bob Deering, Jack Kimmel, Tim Hayes, Dave Jones, Bill Watson.
Speaker Today: Dr. Jean-Francois Coget, the Dean in the College of Business at CSUS originally hails from Paris France with his PhD at UCLA. We have 4,000 undergraduates and 500 grad students in the Sac State business college, with 65 tenure track lecturers. Sac State has been in business as a University since 1943 and the school of Business was in the 1st group of Colleges. It has been accredited since 1963, one of the 1st colleges to be accredited.
There are 40,000 alums in the college of business, and 23,000 are in this region - our alums are powering the region! As a university we are transformational. Our mission is access. We are affordable compared to other universities with tuition at $6k per year, but that is going up. The Chancellor’s office voted a 6% raise in tuition annually for the next few years to catch up with increasing costs. Where is higher education today? Not so rosy. Here are the challenges:
- The first trend is declining enrollment. From 1945 to recently we had a booming growth in enrollment, but it’s declining now starting in the east coast, then the Midwest and south, but now it’s starting to affect California. This year for the first time, the CSU has seen a 5% decline in enrollment. Sonoma State lost 40% of its enrollment in the last 6 years, so they had to cut work force.
- The second trend is declining immigration because it’s harder to get a VISA, so more international students are attending college in Canada. The UC program is hurt more than CSU by this, but the UC now has space for students who previously would go to the CSU so it draws down Sac State’s enrollment.
- There’s been a steady decline in the monetary support from California to the CSU system, but it’s still better than other states. Sac State makes up for it with fundraising and generating other income like the graduate programs.
- The perception of university being a place of left-wing crazies is against us.
- The pandemic changed things. We have an increasing appetite for online programs or hybrid classes. With the pandemic the professors were forced to learn those skills. This is great for working professionals. International students need in-person classes to get their VISA, so we’re doing zoom classes that serve both. During the pandemic, students lost math and communication skills and social skills. We have to address it.
We are rising above the challenges:
- As a whole, CSU Sacramento Business College enrollment is good. We can assume the enrollment will be steady or decline slowly; the college of business will continue to be full.
- We train for a job that pays well. Business majors are getting well paying jobs. The ROI is there.
- Sacramento has more affordable living than the bay area or Los Angeles, so the cost of school is lower. We’re in a strong position, with our regional growth and our housing affordability, that gives us an edge.
- He’s been here for 10 months, and sees it is a bit of a secret how great we are. He wants to tell others the story of Sac State, but also the story of Sacramento. We are one of the most powerful cities in the world. He also sees that we are not the most pro-business state. But Sillicon Valley is not going away, and we have great assets. Being the capital city of the 4th largest economy in the world makes him think we’re not really telling the story.
- He tries to run his college like a business with innovation, analytics, etc., but he also works in a bureaucracy so it’s hard to move very quickly. Budgets are allocated and it’s out of his control. Every year the provost asks every Dean how many hires. It’s not tied to enrollment. You’d think those colleges with declining enrollment would lose teachers. It’s a battle of logic. Grad Students bring in bonus tuition to the college; his goal is to double grad student enrollment from 500 to 1,000 in the coming years. Dean Coget plans to launch cybersecurity management, digital analytics, and HR grad programs.
- AI is being explored. We expect the economy to be transformed by it quickly. It may change the way we teach.
- We are the 4th most diverse college west of the Mississippi, and we’re proud of that. We are in need of scholarships for our diverse population. Our biggest group is Latin-x.
- Students now might be more thin-skinned, but they’re more interested in purpose than money.
Raffle: Bill Watson won the saltwater taffy
The meeting concluded at 1:10 pm
Upcoming events:
Oct 18: Speaker Dan Walters of Calmatters.org
Oct 18: Board Meeting on Zoom at 5:00 pm
Oct 24: Breakfast at Ettores 7:00 am
Oct 25: Speaker Father Chris Calderón, Cristo Rey High School Principal
Oct 28: Tailgate Party at the CSUS Homecoming Game
Nov 1: Arnold Kunst, Wit and Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln
Nov 8: Veteran’s Day celebration. Speaker Joe Scheimer “My Vietnam War Story”
Nov 15: Speaker Francesca Wilmott PhD, Associate Curator at Crocker Art Gallery
Nov 18: Foundation Dinner at the Citrus Heights Community Center 6:00 p.m.
Nov 22: no meeting
Attendance: (19) Charlie Rea, Clarence Parkins, Jim Fritzsche, Tim Hayes, Allison Hamaker, Bill Watson, Bob Deering, Chris Deering, Marsha Vacca, Keith McBride, Dick Hall, Bill Lostocoff, Carroll Dudley, Amy Ruggles, Dave Jones, Kipp Johnson, Jerry Wright, Joe Scheimer, Maria Mengotti.
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