Committee members work to finalize campaign initiatives
Schedules are set to keep timing on track, but sometimes things don’t always go as planned. San Diego State’s comprehensive campaign was scheduled to have a completed case statement and set campaign initiatives by November and early December, but the committee is working on final touches.
Stephanie Casenza, the campaign’s executive director of communications and donor relations, said the campaign’s initial list of strategic objectives – focusing on student enrichment, transforming urban education, advancing public health and personal well-being and bridging communities through arts and culture, enriching the regional economy for business and industry and enhancing regional water sustainability – remain the same.
The campaign is an extensive university fundraising project that organizers say will push SDSU toward becoming a model for a public research university.
Casenza and the campaign committee are pinpointing target areas for the campaign.
“It’s still a work in progress,” said Stephanie Casenza. “It’s not ready for prime time, but it’s getting there. Every week it seems like something is tweaked.”
Though she has made several drafts of the case statement, Casenza said the final draft has taken so long to develop because it’s a consensus process.
“It’s looking at working with campaign leadership committee members, deans, vice presidents, the (university) president and the provost,” Casenza said. “It’s their prerogative to make changes because the market study reflects the direction the university wishes to go.”
The market-feasibility study, which is expected to start early next year, will be conducted by campaign consulting firm Marts & Lundy. The study will show what initiatives resonate with potential donors and what will meet the needs of future generations at SDSU, Casenza said.
“The feedback we get from individuals will help us in terms of refining (objectives and initiatives),” Casenza said. “Some initiatives do not resonate and things that are not originally part of the plan can become a part of the campaign.”
She said the setbacks seem common among other large institutions’ campaigns. The comprehensive campaign is expected to be a decade-long endeavor.
SDSU holds conference on emerging global businesses
The SDSU Center for International Business Education and Research began hosting the fourth annual conference on emerging research frontiers in international business Wednesday.
This year’s conference is titled “Asia and Global Business in the 21st Century: Institutions, Cultures and Strategic Transformations.” The conference aims to explore “methodologies for management research in Asia, international business, business groups, corporate governance and institutional transformation in Asia, cultural issues in global business and joint ventures,” according to a press release.
Several keynote speakers are expected to discuss these topics including former CEO and President of Solectron Corp. Ko Nishimura and distinguished professor from the University of Texas at Dallas, Mike Peng, Ph.D.
The conference is being held at The Westgate Hotel in downtown San Diego.
Registration for the event is $495 per person and includes conference materials and meals.
-Compiled by City Editor Giselle Domdom
