To the Editor,

I understand that many in our campus community feel uncertain about CSUN’s General Education plan, particularly Section F, and the future of our historic ethnic, cultural, gender and women’s studies departments and programs.

I want to reiterate: there is no change to Section F. All students will be required to take six units of comparative cross-cultural studies as they are now. The Chancellor’s Office has reaffirmed this fact for us, most recently with a communication on Sept. 11 that is posted on our website. With the preservation of Section F, the students, faculty, staff and alumni of these departments can be confident that the importance they hold now in our curriculum is secure.

Ethnic, gender and queer studies, and all other cross-cultural courses, remain a priority of students, faculty and administrators at CSUN. President Harrison and I concur with faculty and students that CSUN’s unique Section F requirement is special and deserving of protection, which is why the President responded to faculty and student concerns and appealed so strongly to Chancellor White to maintain Section F. The President and I have been outspoken on the importance of recognizing and protecting CSUN’s diverse learning environment.

I know that there will still be questions about implementation. We have much work to do, with faculty taking the lead on determining how CSUN can best implement the remaining aspects of the executive order. I want to reiterate on behalf of President Harrison and CSUN leadership, we are all absolutely sincere in our commitment to CSUN’s comparative cross-cultural studies programs and the positive impact they have not just on our students, but the community at large.

Sincerely,

Stella Theodoulou, Ph.D.

Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs