1st Latina CSU Prez Sworn In At Fullerton

FULLERTON (CBSLA.com) — The first Latina appointed president of any California State University campus was inaugurated on Friday.

The ceremony honored Mildred Garcia as Cal State Fullerton's fifth president as well as its first to be sworn in in over two decades.

KNX 1070's Mike Landa reports Garcia hopes to address the drastic cuts to enrollment that have affected CSU Fullerton along with campuses statewide.

"We have stopped the cutting, which is wonderful," said Garcia. "Of course, we are turning away qualified Cal State students, so no, we don't have the state support that is necessary."

Over 20 years have passed since Cal State Fullerton celebrated the presidential transition of Milton A. Gordon as the fourth president of the university on Sept. 25, 1992. Garcia succeeded Gordon, who had served as president since August 1990.

Due to widespread budget cuts, no taxpayer dollars will be used to fund the inauguration of Garcia, who assumed leadership of the most populous campus in the CSU last June.

Garcia - who has authored several books on higher education and serves on President Barack Obama's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics - said she will work to balance the needs of students with limited state funding.

"The governor made clear that there would be no tuition increases for the next four years," Garcia said. "How do we manage that and at the same time do some fundraising and...run our institutions efficiently?"

The 9 a.m. ceremony near the Clayes Performing Arts Center was scheduled as part of Homecoming Week festivities at Cal State Fullerton.