CSUSM Welcomes Students Back for Spring Semester
By Katie Chappell
CSUSM welcomed students back to campus on January 20 for the start of the spring semester. The year 2015 marks the University’s 25th anniversary and brings with it a year-long celebration featuring new and signature events including The Prowl, a campus-wide scavenger hunt. Three grand openings, a new degree program and The Sports Center groundbreaking also highlight the spring semester at CSUSM as enrollment continues at record highs with nearly 12,000 students, a seven percent increase from spring 2014.
New Degree Program: Child and Adolescent Development
The College of Humanities, Arts, Behavioral and Social Sciences is launching a brand new degree program this semester, Child and Adolescent Development (CHAD). CHAD focuses on the study of the developmental processes that occur from conception until the end of adolescence through both classroom and clinical education. CHAD majors will learn to evaluate, assess and interact with children and adolescents and their families in a variety of settings. Developed in close collaboration with local community agencies, this research-centered program is designed to prepare students for careers in the fields of research, education, healthcare, public policy, counseling and law.
Grand Openings for New Campus Spaces
A grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Student Health and Counseling Services Building will take place on Thursday, January 22 at noon. The 20,000-square-foot, two-story building was completed in October 2014. Located adjacent to Parking Structure 1 on Campus Way Circle, the new health center includes clinical and counseling offices, health and wellness education spaces and a pharmacy, as well as a conference and resource room. Student Health and Counseling Services was previously located off campus in the Palomar Pomerado Health Building.
The Jan and Esther Stearns Center for ACE Scholars will officially open on February 10 with an open house celebration. The newly remodeled space on the third floor of Craven Hall near Cougar Central will be the new home to ACE Scholars Services, a one-of-a-kind program at CSUSM that provides support to former foster youth pursuing their college degrees.
On February 12 at noon, an open house will be held to celebrate the School of Nursing’s move to the University’s main campus. The remodel of the nearly-11,000-square-foot space on the third floor of University Hall was completed in late 2014 and provides state-of-the-art skills labs, simulation labs, mock exam rooms and administrative space for the School of Nursing. This is the first time that CSUSM's nursing program has been located on campus since the program was founded in 2006; it was previously located in a nearby medical building.
(photo for Illustrative purposes only. Design to be determined.)
The Sports Center Groundbreaking
Later this semester on March 23, a groundbreaking ceremony will be held for The Sports Center, CSUSM’s new multi-purpose athletics facility. Scheduled to open by fall 2016, The Sports Center will become another hub of student life at CSUSM, complementing the recently opened University Student Union and bringing all Cougar athletic events to campus. In addition to hosting home games for men’s and women’s basketball and women’s volleyball, the new facility will be used for campus recreation, kinesiology classes, lecture seminars and numerous community events.