Certainly! Here’s the rewritten article in a tone typical of an Englishman:
One particularly delightful aspect of my tenure as the 13th president of Chico State is residing in the very heart of our picturesque campus. I’m merely a stone’s throw away from downtown Chico and the charming nearby neighborhoods where a multitude of our students reside. The vibrant intersection of university life and the local community is ever so apparent as one observes bustling students frequenting coffee shops, eateries, boutiques, and the bustling farmers markets.
Chico State works remarkably hard to champion the achievements of our students and the esteemed excellence of our faculty and staff. We take immense pride in being a regional comprehensive university. This signifies our mission includes bolstering the success of our region, an endeavour we undertake with utmost solemnity.
With my background as an economics professor since 1994, I’m naturally inclined to ponder how our students influence the local economy. According to our Financial Aid and Scholarship Office, the typical student expends around $25,000 each year on lodging, sustenance, transportation, leisure, and sundry personal expenses. While not every penny is spent locally, a significant portion is. If, for instance, we conservatively assume our 14,000 students annually spend $3,000 in the vicinity, it equates to a staggering $42 million injected into Chico’s economy.
Imagine that! Yet, this is but the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Chico State ranks among the region’s most prominent employers, currently providing 1,800 local jobs for faculty and 2,100 for our student workers. More significantly, the degrees our students acquire translate into elevated lifetime earnings. Thus, they contribute meaningfully to the economy for years on end. Indeed, many of our graduates, much like yourselves, fall madly in love with this locale and decide to put down roots — over 35,000 esteemed alumni reside here in Butte County, driving local economic growth through their spending and taxation contributions.
Yet, dear readers, Chico State’s robust economic stature finds itself poised upon the precipice of a grave threat. The California State University (CSU) system presently faces the disquieting prospect of an 8% state budget reduction. The impending slash of $375 million could not have chosen a more ill-timed moment for Chico State, amid the tightening of our budget due to escalating costs and an enrollment dip we’ve just managed to reverse.
Our portion of this budgetary trim would amount to approximately $12 million, with palpable consequences for our workforce, course offerings, and campus services. These impacts wouldn’t linger just within the university but would reverberate across the entire region.
We find ourselves amid a Chico State resurgence narrative, having toiled diligently to rejuvenate our enrollment figures and spotlight the wonder that Chico represents to prospective students across California. With growing enrollment figures projected to soar higher, this is a feat accomplished with the unwavering support of our community, region, and alumni. We simply cannot permit a monumental $375 million state cut to the CSU to derail our triumph, imperil local businesses, or disrupt the stream of skilled graduates poised for careers in North State’s varied sectors like schools, hospitals, and agriculture.
Your assistance, good people, is vital. I implore you to reach out to our state legislators to champion against these looming budget cuts. Discover your state representatives by visiting the following link to ensure your voice resounds clearly.
Chico State plays an indispensable role in elevating individuals and families to better economic straits — notably in the North State, where higher education access can indeed alter life pathways. Over half of our students trailblaze as first-generation bachelor’s degree earners within their families. They stand ready to lead as the region’s forthcoming cadre of innovators, educators, and civic leaders. Their triumphs are inextricably linked to the economic resilience and prosperity of our beloved region.
Preserving CSU’s higher education funding transcends the boundaries of university walls; it safeguards the vitality of communities such as Chico. I earnestly ask that you aid us in urging our state leaders to reconsider these fiscal cuts and ensure our mission to provide unparalleled educational access continues, transforming lives for generations.
Thank you ever so much.
Dr. Steve Perez was inaugurated as Chico State’s 13th president on the 1st of July, 2023.
Feel free to explore further information about California State University and Chico State’s economic impact online.
