The unprecedented budget cuts have dominated the dialogue at every level at Cal Poly Pomona, President Ortiz says in his fall quarter video message. Students, faculty and staff have personally felt the negative impact and have expressed their anger and frustration.

To drive change in Sacramento, the campus community must join with the CSU community in pressuring public leaders to restore funding to higher education, Ortiz says. The president invites the campus to talk with state representatives at upcoming meetings. The campus community will be informed the dates and times when they are set.

"If you really want to join me and make a difference, let's collectively address the people that are determining how your tax dollars are being spent," Ortiz says. "Cal Poly Pomona and the CSU needs champions in the legislature. I am committed to leading you in this charge."

During the 12-minute video message, the president highlights some positive stories in the last few months, including the introduction of the comprehensive campaign steering committee, progress on the university strategic plan, an increase in hybrid and online courses, and the new look for PolyCentric.

Ortiz also recognizes two individuals who had a major impact on the university and who recently passed - head baseball coach John Scolinos and Henry House, former dean of students.

A transcript of the video message is available at /news/img/stories/fall2009message.pdf.

To watch the message, click on the following links.

For PC and MAC users:
High Bandwidth: https://video.cpp.edu/President/UniversityAddress-Fall09-655.asx
Mid Bandwidth: https://video.cpp.edu/President/UniversityAddress-Fall09-245.asx
Low Bandwidth: https://video.cpp.edu/President/UniversityAddress-Fall09-035.asx

For Mac users requiring captions:
High Bandwidth: https://video.cpp.edu/President/UniversityAddress-Fall09-655.mov
Mid Bandwidth: https://video.cpp.edu/President/UniversityAddress-Fall09-245.mov
Low Bandwidth: https://video.cpp.edu/President/UniversityAddress-Fall09-035.mov

Mac users will need to ensure they have the correct player installed to view the files. The download page can be found www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download/alldownloads.aspx?displang=en.

To view with real-time captions, select Play -> Lyrics, Captions and Subtitles. Then make sure Captions is selected.