Over the past 12 months, Cal State San Marcos celebrated several fundraising milestones.

Last fall, the university publicly launched Blueprint for the Future, an ambitious campaign to raise $200 million in philanthropy and research funding. Today, the campaign has reached 84% of its goal thanks to the generosity of donors, alumni and community partners.

CSUSM also recorded its second-highest fundraising year in campus history, reflecting a growing culture of philanthropy across the university.

"Every gift creates a new opportunity for a CSUSM student," CSUSM President Ellen Neufeldt said. "Our donors believe in the potential of our students and the power of higher education to change lives and strengthen our region’s economic prosperity. Their generosity is creating opportunities for social mobility today while shaping the future of our university for generations to come."

Building the Future of Engineering

The largest gift of the 2025-26 academic year, $10 million from Hunter Industries, ranks among the largest philanthropic contributions in university history. The investment builds on a decades-long partnership between the university and the Hunter family and will support the future Hunter Hall of Science and Engineering.

Opening in spring 2028, the 70,000-square-foot, three-story facility will feature advanced laboratories, a robotics suite and collaborative learning spaces designed to prepare students for careers in engineering and advanced technology.

Hunter Hall will expand CSUSM's engineering capacity, increasing enrollment from approximately 500 to nearly 2,000 students while enabling the launch of a new industrial and systems engineering program.

Leading the Nation in Social Mobility

Backed by $3 million in philanthropic support, the university will become home to the CSU National Center for Social Mobility, a hub for research, innovation and collaboration that will share evidence-based practices across all 22 CSU campuses and beyond.

The center builds on CSUSM's longstanding commitment to expanding opportunity. Earlier this year, CSUSM was ranked No. 1 in the nation for social mobility for the second time in four years by the CollegeNET Social Mobility Index.

Stewarding Donor Investments

The university also celebrated the continued growth of its endowment. This year, CSUSM earned systemwide recognition for investment performance, achieving the highest five-year rate of return among CSU campuses, tying for the top one-year return and ranking second in 10-year performance.

Fueling Research and Innovation

Faculty research is also advancing Blueprint for the Future. Physics professor Justin Perron is leading a three-year, federally funded initiative to give undergraduates hands-on training in quantum information science and technology. Additional funding is supporting research in mathematics, biology, mental health and public health.

Record-Breaking Giving Day

The momentum behind Blueprint for the Future extends far beyond transformational gifts. It is powered by thousands of alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends who believe in the promise of CSUSM.

That collective generosity was on full display during the university's most successful Giving Day to date. In just 24 hours, supporters contributed $828,397 through 2,444 gifts, setting a new university record. Alumni also continue to play an increasingly important role in the campaign, now representing 32% of all Blueprint for the Future donors.

A new building. A national center. Thousands of lives transformed. That's the vision behind Blueprint for the Future, and every gift brings CSUSM closer to reaching the goal to raise $200 million in philanthropy and research funding.

Media Contact

Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist

bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

This spring, Clerihan graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, and she's planning to launch her own construction billing business in the community she now calls home. She credits her professors at CSUSM at Temecula for encouraging her to pursue her educational and entrepreneurial dreams.

“I was never that student who enjoyed school, but at CSUSM at Temecula, I found myself on the dean’s list and looking forward to going to class,” Clerihan said. “My parents were amazed by the change in me.” 

Her story was highlighted by CSUSM President Ellen Neufeldt at “The Power of Us” Southwest Riverside County Community Breakfast on June 30. The event brought together local business, government, education and community leaders to explore how partnerships are shaping the region’s educational and economic future. 

Sponsored by the Pechanga Band of Indians, the event was emceed by CSUSM Foundation Board directors Alisha Wilkins and Esther Phahla, both Temecula residents and local business owners with deep ties to the region. 

Before Neufeldt took the stage, Riverside County Third District Supervisor Chuck Washington reflected on the partnership that has shaped CSUSM’s presence in Southwest Riverside County. 

“It started with a simple but ambitious idea: bringing expanded higher education opportunities closer to the families of Southwest Riverside County,” Washington said. “Cal State San Marcos has listened to our communities, understood our workforce needs and invested in programs that reflect our local priorities.”  

Meeting Students Where They Are 

CSUSM established its Temecula campus in 2008 and has expanded to include two locations, with programs in nursing, software engineering, teacher credentialing and business administration. That commitment received a major boost in 2024 when Riverside County invested $5.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding to enhance technology, equipment and academic programs.  

Today, more than 20% of CSUSM’s nearly 17,000 students come from Riverside County. Students attend classes on the university’s main campus in San Marcos, at CSUSM’s Temecula locations, online or through a combination of locations. 

Expanding access to higher education is central to CSUSM’s mission of advancing social mobility. Last fall, the university again was recognized as the nation’s top university for social mobility by CollegeNET, reflecting its success in helping students improve their economic opportunities through earning a degree. 

“Beyond the ranking, social mobility is a student like Alyssa, who thought she would have to drop out and instead earned her business degree,” Neufeldt said. “It's a first-generation student becoming an engineer. A working parent becoming a nurse. A transfer student becoming a teacher. That's what social mobility looks like.” 

Collaborating Across the Region 

In her remarks, Neufeldt emphasized that expanding access to higher education requires collaboration among schools, colleges, employers and community partners. 

She highlighted the university's participation in Riverside County's Direct Admission initiative, the first countywide partnership of its kind with the California State University system, as well as CSUSM's Alliance partnerships with more than two dozen school districts and tribal nations. 

“The message to students is simple,” Neufeldt said. “You belong here. You can do this. College is not something that happens to other people. It is for you.” 

Aligning Education with Workforce Needs 

Neufeldt also showcased several programs developed in response to workforce needs identified by employers throughout Southwest Riverside County. 

Among them is an accelerated software engineering pathway created in partnership with MSJC, Temecula Valley Unified School District and Murrieta Valley Unified School District. The innovative model allows students to begin coursework in high school, earn college credit through MSJC and complete a CSUSM bachelor's degree on an accelerated timeline. The program is now expanding to include Lake Elsinore Unified School District. 

The university is also strengthening healthcare pathways. CSUSM produces more nurses than any other campus in the California State University system and has graduated nearly 4,000 nurses over the past decade. The university is developing a concurrent nursing agreement with MSJC that would allow students to earn their RN and BSN degrees simultaneously. 

“A skilled workforce is essential to the economic vitality of this region, and we are working conscientiously with our education partners and community leaders to create and deliver the right mix of programs that meet the needs of these communities,” said Godfrey Gibbison, CSUSM’s dean of Extended Learning and associate vice president for international programs.  

Additional programs under development include integrated studies, early childhood education and clinical laboratory science, a high-demand healthcare profession identified by regional employers as one of their most difficult positions to fill. 

“Every one of these programs starts with the same question,” Neufeldt said. “What does this region need? And how can we help meet that need?” 

Looking Ahead 

Neufeldt noted that CSUSM's work in Southwest Riverside County continues to evolve, with plans to further expand into MSJC University Center. 

"This gathering represents something that is a hallmark of Southwest Riverside County: the belief that progress happens through partnership," she said. "Real change happens when we work together." 

For students like Clerihan, those opportunities can be life-changing: a degree, a business and a future in the community she loves. 

Media Contact

Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist

bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

Fast forward a few years, and Martinez – now president of Associated Students, Inc., at Cal State San Marcos – spoke on a panel of students and alumni at the 2025 National Social Mobility Symposium held Feb. 20-21 in the University Student Union Ballroom.

Martinez spoke alongside Hunter Brody Chanove and Ashley Bonilla, both CSUSM alumni, and Myles Villafranca, a graduate student at Clayton State University in Georgia. Brody Chanove works in product marketing management at Viasat, and Bonilla is an evaluation consultant for Intention 2 Impact, a social impact consulting firm. 

Education has always been important to the Martinez family. Martinez has four sisters, including two with CSUSM connections. One of his younger sisters is a first-year student, while his older sister, Yulisa, was the first in their family to graduate from college. Yulisa graduated in 2017 and majored in liberal studies. She returned to CSUSM to get a master's in education and now teaches second grade at nearby Twin Oaks Elementary School. 

Yulisa’s journey to a degree provided inspiration for her younger brother.

“I always knew I wanted to continue my education,” Martinez said. “My parents never finished college, and it’s something that they wish they could have continued if they had more time and more resources. They saw what education did for peers who did finish and they always let us know that you can finish your degree and have financially stable lives, because education is a gateway to being financially stable and to have prosperity in life.” 

After seeing his sister thrive at CSUSM, Martinez realized how he could thrive as well. 

“Because she came to CSUSM, it allowed me to see myself here, too,” Martinez said. “Being a part of my community has been something that I always strive to do, something that's super important to me. As I look into my future, that's something I want to do, and I definitely saw that in my sister.”

While attending CSUSM, Yulisa was involved in several organizations around campus. Similar to her brother, she volunteered with ASI. 

Martinez joined ASI last year, though it wasn't the first way he got involved on campus. He worked for the Office of Inclusive Excellence as a student assistant. He also had a job where he gave out reminders on wearing masks on campus during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Between those two experiences, Martinez felt compelled to get even more involved. 

“I wanted to make more of an impact on campus and voice student concerns, but also be a voice that I didn't see represented on campus,” Martinez said. “After seeing the work that impacts students, I wanted to do something that was forward facing with students. I knew that ASI was a prominent student group on campus that allowed me to talk to different administrators and with different student leaders. I knew that was something I wanted to do to close the communication gap between administrators and students.”

From October 2023 to May 2024, Martinez was the diversity, equity and inclusion representative for the ASI board of directors. He then was elected president and began the role last August. 

Martinez is set to graduate in May with a degree in business administration marketing. He's applying to schools to pursue his MBA, and he aspires to work in higher education or local government.

“Because of my education, I am now more confident,” Martinez said during the Social Mobility Symposium panel. “Coming into higher education, confidence was put on a pedestal for me, showing that I can be a leader and share my knowledge with others. I’ve been able to see the impact of Cal State San Marcos and the impact of education and how it has so much influence on a person’s life.”

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs

ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

Now, according to at least one metric, the university is the national leader in social mobility.

CSUSM ranks first nationally out of more than 1,400 schools measured in the ninth annual Social Mobility Index (SMI) by the online publication CollegeNET. The SMI rates four-year U.S. colleges and universities “according to how they hold the line on tuition, enroll students from low-income backgrounds, graduate those students into good jobs, and apply their promotional messaging to solve our nation’s social mobility problem.”

CSUSM had been included in the top 5% of the index for each of the previous seven years, but this is the first time that it has topped the list. Seven other California State University schools ranked in the top 20.   

The SMI differs from most other rankings of colleges and universities in that it focuses directly on the factors that enable economic mobility. The index traditionally has been computed from five variables: published tuition, percentage of students whose families have incomes below $48,000 (slightly below the U.S. median), graduation rate, median salary approximately five years after graduation, and endowment size. CollegeNET contrasts its rankings and the concept of social mobility in general with the much-debated annual rankings by U.S. News & World Report, which are grounded more in institutional prestige and wealth.

“I’m thrilled that the 2022 Social Mobility Index recognizes the critical work we’re doing in this area,” Neufeldt said. “We’re building upon CSUSM’s reputation as an escalator of social mobility.  At a time when the value of higher education is being called into question, CSUSM stands out as a beacon of hope and opportunity. This recognition reflects the incredible work of our entire campus community to put our students and our region first in all that we do.”

CSUSM has been dedicated to student success and social mobility since its founding in 1989. From first-year programs to learning communities, community-based learning opportunities, internships, undergraduate research and more, the university works to foster deep learning and academic success by engaging students in meaningful and innovative educational experiences.  

These practices are especially beneficial to underserved student groups. CSUSM is a federally designated Hispanic-Serving Institution with a diverse student population. At least 52% of graduates are the first in their families to earn a bachelor’s degree. One in nine students is a veteran, service member or military-affiliated dependent. CSUSM is also a major contributor of bachelor’s degree holders to the region’s workforce, with about 80% of students remaining in the region following graduation.  

Since Neufeldt became president in 2019, social mobility has become even more woven into CSUSM’s mission. In fact, it’s a pillar of the five-year strategic plan that the university unveiled last spring, The Power of CSUSM.

CSUSM already has taken notable strides toward the objectives outlined in the strategic plan. In May, the university received a $1 million gift from longtime donors Steve and Laura Wagner to create a fund devoted to social mobility, and in June it hosted the two-day National Social Mobility Symposium, which was emceed by the chair of the CSU Board of Trustees and attended by university leaders, faculty and experts from across the country.

“I look forward to continuing our efforts to be a national model in the area of student success and social mobility – building on the important work already in place and taking it to new heights through innovation, collaboration and inclusion,” Neufeldt said.