Daily Business Report/Aug. 29, 2016
Construction of the Engineering and Interdisciplinary Sciences Complex which will open in January 2018. (Courtesy SDSU)
San Diego State Welcomes 11,000 New
Students to a Campus in the Midst of Change
By Beth Downing Chee | SDSU
San Diego State University kicks off the 2016-17 academic year today, welcoming nearly 11,000 new students to campus.
New and returning students will step foot onto a transforming Montezuma Mesa, distinguished by remarkable peers, exceptional and dedicated faculty and staff and innovative programs.
“As we enter the fifth year of our strategic plan, ‘Building on Excellence,’ this is a time of unprecedented opportunity for San Diego State,” said SDSU President Elliot Hirshman. “Through our collaborative campus efforts, we have made extraordinary progress in our core areas of Student Success, Research and Creative Endeavors, and Community and Communication. I am excited about the initiatives we will pursue in the coming year and our prospects for achieving even greater excellence and distinction.”
Guided by the strategic plan, the university is moving forward with campus construction, the addition of new faculty members, the introduction of 23 new courses and several other initiatives designed to enhance the Aztec Experience for SDSU students.
New students
More than 83,000 freshmen and undergraduate transfer students applied for fall 2016 admission to SDSU — an all-time high for the university. Approximately 8,500 new undergraduates and 2,200 new graduate students are joining the Aztec family.
Though final data won’t be available until the university’s annual census in September, the freshman class is shaping up to be one of the most academically impressive ever with an average GPA of 3.68. Twenty incoming freshmen have two-part SAT scores over 1500, and more than 800 have scores over 1300.
The incoming class is also one of the most internationally diverse cohorts, with 315 new exchange students and 825 new degree and certificate seeking international students representing 80 countries.
New faculty
This semester, SDSU welcomes 51 new tenured and tenure-track faculty members, surpassing the halfway mark of an ambitious five-year goal to add 300 new faculty members. Since 2014, more than 155 faculty members have been hired — thanks in part to funding by the campus Student Success Fee — boosting the university’s research and creative endeavors and supporting student success.
New faculty members this year come to SDSU from Harvard, Columbia, Cambridge, Emory, the University of California, Berkeley, and other world-class research universities. They are experts in a variety of fields including aerospace and biomedical engineering, neuroscience, computational archeology, furniture design, music theory, astronomy, geology, art history and social psychology.
New classes
SDSU has added 23 new classes from departments all over campus to its fall 2016 schedule. They include Sound Design for Film; Philosophy, Racism and Justice; Advanced Watershed Analysis; and Media Technology and Society. American Sign Language classes also have been reintroduced as part of the College of Education’s curriculum.
The changing face of campus
Students, faculty and staff returning to the Mesa may be surprised by the progress that has been made on construction projects across campus, including the Engineering and Interdisciplinary Sciences Complex and South Campus Plaza, both of which are dramatically changing the campus skyline.
Other ongoing construction projects include new monuments at the main campus gateway at Campanile Drive and Montezuma Road; a new recreation field located on the north side of Parking Structure 12; and the addition of new restrooms and concession stands at Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre.
Campus parking lots and parking structures have been renamed. Name changes are reflected on signs installed in each parking area. They list both the old and new names.
A new student lounge has also been added to the southwest corner of The Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union. The 1,600-square-foot lounge, operated by Associated Students, will be a hub for students to relax, socialize, study and collaborate. It will be open daily and features breakout work spaces, writeable surfaces, comfortable seating and five televisions.
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Poll Finds 39% of Voters Support
Chargers’ Stadium Proposal
By City News Service
The Chargers’ plan to build a stadium and convention center annex in Downtown San Diego has the support of 39 percent of likely voters in the November election, according to poll results released Friday.
The sampling of 678 likely voters by SurveyUSA for 10News and the San Diego Union-Tribune found 36 percent in opposition, with 25 percent undecided.
The issue, which is going before voters this fall as Measure C, would raise hotel room taxes by effectively four percentage points to 16.5 percent. Because of the nature of the tax hike, the proposition probably needs two- thirds approval to pass, but there’s a slim chance that a court case in an unrelated matter could change that to a simple majority.
In a similar poll last month, SurveyUSA determined that 30 percent favored the Chargers’ plans and 40 percent were opposed.
The most recent sampling, which took place by phone between Wednesday and today, found that 46 of men favored Measure C while 43 percent of women opposed it.
The stadium received majority support from adults aged 18-34 and Republicans. The biggest opponents were seniors aged 65 and up.
SurveyUSA also found that 29 percent favored Measure D, while 27 percent were opposed and a plurality — 44 percent — were uncertain. The measure would raise the hotel room tax to 15.5 percent, prohibit an expansion of the San Diego Convention Center and encourage conversion of the Qualcomm Stadium property to education and recreational uses should the Chargers vacate the facility.
Measure D supporters contend their initiative only needs to surpass 50 percent to be adopted. The San Diego City Attorney’s Office opined that it requires two-thirds.
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Research Ship Honoring Sally Ride
Arrives at New Home in San Diego
Times of San Diego
A state-of-the-art research vessel built for Scripps Institution of Oceanography and honoring astronaut Sally Ride arrived at its new home Friday.
The R/V Sally Ride stopped briefly off Scripps Pier on the way to its dock on Point Loma as hundreds of Scripps researchers gathered to welcome it. As the ship maneuvered in circles and blew its horn, the crowd waved signs and took photos.
Dr. Margaret Leinen, director of Scripps, described the new ship as a “visceral symbol” the the world-famous institution’s ties to the sea.
“It’s such a thrill. Most of our ships are all over the world. It’s giving us a big Sally Ride hello with its horn,” she said while watching from the pier.
The 238-foot-long, Navy-owned vessel was built in Anacortes, Wash. It is named for the first American woman to travel in space. Ride taught at UC San Diego until her death four years ago.
The ship is one of the most technologically advanced oceanographic research vessels in the world and will put that technology to work in missions throughout the northern Pacific Ocean, starting with a survey of the California Current in November.
Public tours of the Sally Ride will be offered Oct. 30 at Broadway Pier in Downtown San Diego.
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Escondido Office Building
Sells for $6.9 Million
Showprop Pico Rivera LLC has acquired a 25,380-square-foot, Class A office building in Escondido for $6.9 million.
The property, located at 800 West Valley Parkway, was built in 2003. The seller was SENTRE, dba Escondito Gateway LLC.
Cushman & Wakefield represented buyer and seller.
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Barons Market to Offer Free Sandwiches,
Salads And Sodas Tuesday
at the San Diego Velodrome
In advance of its North Park store opening this year in North Park, Barons Market has teamed with the San Diego Velodrome to offer sandwiches, salads and its specialty sodas to bike riders and spectators of the Tuesday night races.
All proceeds from the food and beverage sales go back to supporting programs at the Velodrome.
“As a neighborhood market, Barons’ footprint extends far beyond its front doors,” the company said in announcing the benefit. “The grocery store seeks out the hyper-local culture and gives back to causes important to each of its communities. In North Park’s case, this includes the Velodrome, a community-loved place with neighborhood flavor where friends gather to enjoy good company, good biking and now, good food.”
Tuesday’s races are from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the San Diego Velodrome, 2516 Pershing Drive.
