• A silver award for the Inaugural Social Mobility Donor Impact Report in the “Donor Relations & Stewardship Initiatives” category — led by Kris Vasquez, director of donor relations and stewardship, and Shaymaa Abusalih, donor relations and stewardship coordinator.
• A bronze award in Student Org Crowdfunding Month 2024 in the “Fundraising: Student-led Initiatives category” — led by Sean Briner, director of annual giving, and Alejandra Perkins, digital giving specialist.

Judges commended the report’s “compelling storytelling, placing the voices and experiences of recipients at the center of the narrative. Achieved by a small, resourceful team, it’s a testament to how authentic, student-led stories can deeply connect with alumni and elevate impact reporting.” 

For the crowdfunding honor, judges said, “the results are impressive” and it is “a great way to get various organizations on campus involved.” 

The Circle of Excellence Awards drew 4,460 entries from 640 institutions across 33 countries. CASE selected 477 entries for recognition, honoring work that exemplifies the best in advancement across marketing, alumni relations, fundraising, publications and leadership. 

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Interim assistant director of editorial and external affairs
ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

“I will come, but first you must tell me what social mobility is.”

Neufeldt related that story on Thursday under a very different set of circumstances. She’s now in her sixth year as president of Cal State San Marcos. Social mobility has increasingly gained prominence in the world of higher education.

And, most significantly, Neufeldt was speaking to an audience of more than 400 people packed into the University Student Union ballroom for the now-annual National Social Mobility Symposium. A cross-section of education, government and other leaders from across the country congregated over a day-and-a-half to delve into the once-foreign concept and the many ways that social mobility is interconnected with the vital work of educating students.

“The national and higher education conversation has changed in many ways,” Neufeldt said in remarks kicking off the symposium. “Right here at CSUSM and in the CSU in general, social mobility has been part of the core mission of who we are. In fact, through CSUSM’s strategic planning, we established our vision to be a national leader in social mobility.

“While social mobility includes upward economic mobility, it also encompasses broader access to opportunities and resources, education, and overall quality of life.”

In a fortuitous stroke of timing, the symposium began on the same day that the College Futures Foundation – an Oakland-based nonprofit – released its inaugural California Mobility Index. The CMI ranks four-year institutions in the state based not on how exclusive they are, but rather on the rate of low- and medium-income students they enroll and the return on investment they provide.

California State University campuses account for 13 of the top 15 spots (including CSUSM) in the CMI, the debut of which drew coverage from such media outlets as the Los Angeles Times and EdSource.  

CSU Chancellor Mildred Garcia was one of four keynote speakers at the symposium, calling it one of the system’s “signature events.”

“At the CSU and at our peer institutions represented here today, social mobility is our greatest strength, our immense source of pride, and it’s our reason for being,” Garcia said. 

Neufeldt discussed, and other speakers at the symposium explored, the concept of a four-legged stool – the systemic barriers that predominate in higher education and prevent the thriving of social mobility. The four legs consist of:

• the college rankings that historically have focused on, but are gradually evolving away from, exclusion over inclusion;
• the media that has long skewed its coverage toward Ivy League and flagship institutions;
• state governments that tie funding formulas to outdated ranking models;
• and industries and employers that still tend to recruit primarily from elite institutions.

“We must be intentional about dismantling barriers, changing practices and expanding opportunities,” Neufeldt said. “We must view every decision by asking ourselves: Who is being left out? What structures are we upholding that need to be reimagined?

“This is not just about education. It is about our economy, our workforce and the future leaders of our regions and nations.”

Joining Garcia as keynote speakers at the symposium were Nate Hilger, an economist and data scientist and author of the book “The Parent Trap: How to Stop Overloading Parents and Fix Our Inequality Crisis”; Charles Welch, president of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities; and Alejandra Campoverdi, founder of the First Gen Fund and a former White House aide to President Barack Obama.

On Friday, two current or former elected officials spoke to the assembled crowd: Toni Atkins, the former leader of the California State Senate; and Scott Peters, the U.S. representative of the congressional district (50^th) that includes San Marcos.

Atkins talked about the tie between her own story of social mobility as a first-generation college graduate who grew up poor in Appalachia and her political work in the state as a fierce advocate of education, affordable housing and LGBTQ rights.

“Social mobility allowed me, the daughter of a seamstress from Appalachia, to become the first woman to be president pro tempore of the California State Senate,” Atkins said. “It allowed me to live a life far beyond my dreams. I want to make sure current and future students get a chance to live that life as well.”

Peters appeared at the symposium for the third year in a row. He also hosted Neufeldt and other leaders from CSUSM in Washington last summer.

“This is the right place for the symposium,” Peters said. “Cal State San Marcos is a model that I talk about all the time in my work.”

The symposium emcee, also for the third straight year, was Wenda Fong, former chair and current trustee of the CSU Board of Trustees.

“It is our highest mission to afford students of all backgrounds, races, ethnicities, abilities, identities and orientations the opportunity to earn the lifelong benefits of a high-quality college degree,” Fong said. “This mission and these values have never been more essential. Our world, and the changes coming in the future, require higher education to prepare students for a society of rapid change in technology, increasing interconnectedness and new forms of employment.”

Other highlights from the symposium included:

• a look at how technology is shaping the future of higher education, emphasizing the role of innovation in creating equitable opportunities.
• quick pitches on impactful programs, and dozens of best practices, showing clear examples of how institutions can foster social mobility in creative ways.
• panels showcasing how different organizations measure social mobility through rankings and how university leaders reinforce the importance of adapting to student needs.
• the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU) on how institutions and economic leaders work together to drive regional change and bolster the workforce and economy.
• a discussion on best practices throughout the educational pipeline, emphasizing strong partnerships between K-12, community colleges and universities to create seamless pathways to higher education.

Media Contact

Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist

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

The inaugural California Mobility Index (CMI) ranks 82 four-year institutions that collectively enroll almost 800,000 undergraduate students. But rather than the traditional approach of rewarding institutions based on the exclusivity and standardized test scores of their incoming class, the CMI evaluates institutions on the proportion of low- and moderate-income students they enroll and the return on investment they provide within the state of California.

The CMI is the product of a partnership between the College Futures Foundation and the HEA Group.

“This new state index is a step in the right direction to ensure that the work at CSUSM and other CSUs is acknowledged and highlighted,” CSUSM President Ellen Neufeldt said. “I am encouraged to see more rankings evolving to recognize the institutions that are making the greatest impact on students’ social and economic mobility. We’ve known all along that we are changing lives and the communities we serve. As the national conversation around the ROI of higher education continues, we can clearly see that college is indeed an investment that pays off.”

The index is based on the share of Pell Grant recipients that an institution enrolls, the average earnings of those students within 10 years after enrollment and the average out-of-pocket costs paid by those students for their degree.

Pell Grants are federal financial aid awards available to low- and moderate-income students. Researchers used U.S. Department of Education data to track the earnings of such students after graduating. 

The CMI is dominated by schools from California State University, with CSU campuses accounting for 13 of the top 15 spots.

CSUSM has become recognized as a national leader in social or economic mobility under the leadership of President Ellen Neufeldt. The university ranks No. 2 out of more than 1,200 schools nationally in the current Social Mobility Index by the online publication CollegeNET, and it topped that same list two years ago.

CSUSM also annually hosts the National Social Mobility Symposium, which draws hundreds of leaders from across the country to discuss ways to make higher education more accessible to all.

Mark your calendar: The 2022 National Social Mobility Symposium, a bicoastal collaboration between CSUSM and the Center for Social Mobility at Old Dominion University, will take place Thursday, June 23 and Friday, June 24 at CSUSM. This year’s conference theme is “Partnering for Prosperity and Inclusive Growth.”

The symposium will be an opportunity for the higher education community – including university presidents, senior academic leaders, student affairs professionals, faculty and staff – to come together to discuss how institutions can best support student social mobility and the inclusive recovery and growth of the communities they serve in today’s evolving and challenging environment.

Join colleagues from around the country in sharing new ideas and exploring innovative ways of serving students while also partnering with external constituents. Discussions will be grounded in possibility and creativity, with opportunities to learn and innovate with each other.

Registration is now open! All conference fees are waived thanks to generous sponsors including College Futures Foundation, the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation and the Stone Brewing Fund for Social Mobility at CSUSM. 

Register to attend free online.

Featured speakers include:

Wenda Fong
Event Emcee
Vice Chair of the CSU Board of Trustees, The California State University 

Dr. Will Del Pilar
Keynote and Panel Moderator
Vice President of Higher Education Policy and Practice, Ed Trust 

Panel of Presidents
A panel of presidents representing universities across the U.S. will share insights 
and best practices related to student success.

Breakout sessions include:

The Case for Inclusion: Women with Disabilities in Social Mobility Practices in Higher Education (Virginia Commonwealth University & Old Dominion University) 

Promoting Student Involvement Through Scholar Programs (University of California San Diego) 

Social Mobility: Exploring Post-Graduate Outcomes and Correlates of Post-Graduate Success (California State University Channel Islands) 

Scalable Social Class Support Programs & Practices (Clemson University) 

For more information about the symposium, visit the National Social Mobility Symposium website or email socialmobility@odu.edu.