Dear Students and Alumni,
August has been an eventful and fun month here at CSU!
Last month, the CSU President’s Council was challenged by the Waldorf College President’s Council to take the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge to benefit the national charity and raise awareness of this disease. We did and whoa, that water was COLD!
So, to pass the challenge along, we asked students and alumni to accept the Ice Bucket Challenge. CSU will match each $10 donation of the first 200 videos shared on our Facebook page up to $2,000.
To date, we have more than 100 students and staff members who have taken the challenge. If you would like to be counted, please take the challenge and let us know by including #CSU14ALSicebucketchallenge in your video submission on the CSU Facebook page.
We also recently celebrated the start of football season and the end of summer with CSU Tailgate Week. Faculty and staff wore their favorite football team jerseys and T-shirts, enjoyed hot dogs and refreshments and played games. It was a great opportunity for employees to unwind, celebrate and build our organizational health. You can also check out a video of our dip competition from tailgate week on our YouTube channel.
In other news:
• The CSU Alumni Association will publish the inaugural CSU Alumni Magazine online this fall. Inside, alumni will find articles on recent events, fellow CSU alumni making a difference in their community, exciting developments with the CSU alumni organization and more. Our first feature story tells of a true act of bravery and survival for a CSU alumnus who stared death in the face and came out a changed man.
• Congratulations to the Voluntary Protection Programs Participants’ Association on being the Learning Partner of the Month for September! We are so happy to partner with businesses and organizations and offer a tuition discount to their employees and members. CSU also offers exclusive scholarship opportunities as part of the partnership. One example of this partner benefit is the recent win by Nikola Zamiska, the recipient of a Learning Partner scholarship. This fourth-generation firefighter plans to use his scholarship toward a master’s degree in public administration with a concentration in emergency services management.
• Our Outreach representatives continue to travel to various conferences and sites in the coming months. Several will be attending the National Safety Council Congress and Expo on Sept. 14-18 in San Diego. This is considered the world’s largest annual “must attend” event for safety, health and environmental professionals and we are proud to be a part of it. We will also be at the National Tactical Officers Association conference on Sept.21-22 in Mobile, Ala. You can read about other conferences CSU representatives will be attending on our website. Please drop by our booths and say hi!
• Our sister institution, Waldorf College, took a historic step recently when it received approval from the North Central Association Higher Learning Commission to add a graduate degree program to its online degree offerings. The Iowa-based school now offers a Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership with several concentrations. President Bob Alsop, the faculty and staff of Waldorf are working hard to expand the college’s academic offerings. Please help us spread the word about this new program.
Last but not least, I hope to see many of you next month at the CSU Commencement Ceremony in Orange Beach. We are all very excited as Oct. 24 approaches and truly look forward to meeting you. Are you ready to walk across that stage?
God bless,
Robert Mayes
