San Marcos,
03
August
2016
|
00:00 AM
America/Los_Angeles

Dr. Kenneth Gonzalez: Taking the Lead on Team Transformation

By David Ogul

Dr. Kenneth Gonzalez represents the essence of Cal State San Marcos.

The Director of CSUSM’s Joint Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership, Gonzalez has long worked with the broader community in a holistic approach at improving student success and college-going rates among underserved populations. He is a national consultant for more than 40 community colleges on institutional effectiveness, strategic planning and student learning outcomes assessment, and his latest project is the proposed Institute for Collective Impact at CSUSM, a regional effort aimed at improving conditions to affecting everything from health to education.

“We have incredible inequities in America that have been growing for the past two decades,” said Gonzalez. “I’m convinced that anything that perpetuates the status quo is endangering our future society—the society that my children will inherit. When I look around me, I see two types of individuals: those that are protecting the status quo and those that are working to transform the system around us. I’m on Team Transformation.”

Gonzalez came to CSUSM in the fall of 2015 from Cal State Fullerton, but spent most of his 15 years as a full-time faculty member at the University of San Diego. He has earned numerous national and institutional awards, including the Outstanding Teacher Award at USD in 2003 and 2010.

He sees CSUSM as playing a vital role in affecting change.

“Cal State San Marcos can be the people’s university by directly addressing the public’s needs related to education and health care,” he said. “We have the faculty, students, and leaders to transform not only the university, but the communities that we serve.”