This summer, I have seen our new students arrive on campus for orientation. Group by group they've come, no doubt experiencing that uneasy mixture of excitement and uncertainty.
I've been known to get just a little teary-eyed at commencement, but truth be told, seeing these new members of The Beach family evokes similar emotions. They are embarking on a transformative journey that also holds the promise of being one of the most special times of their lives.
I hope they feel the support of this entire campus community, including the thousands of donors and advocates who step up year after year to help make this as enriching an experience as it can be. And in many respects, our new students stand on the shoulders of those who came before them.
Our new Beach community members now begin writing the next chapter of not only their own story, but also that of this remarkable institution.
Jeffrey D. Cook
Interim Vice President, University Relations & Development
TRANSITIONS
Stacey Dupée
Stacy Dupée ’21 returns to The Beach as the College of Health and Human Services’ new development associate. Most recently, she was a communications associate at Hyundai Motor America. Prior to Hyundai, she was the department coordinator in the marketing department in CSULB’s College of Business.
PHILANTHROPY
CSULB alumnus credits The Beach for his successful career in business, politics, radio
Wayne Powell ’74, ’78 says he owes all of this to The Beach. His recent commitment to CSULB was one of the largest planned gifts to date to the College of Business.
How one young CSULB alumnus connects generations at The Beach
For Austin Metoyer ‘11, connections are everything. He believes that staying connected to the university, whether it’s through a financial gift or volunteer opportunities, is a way to support students who are doing great things.
CSULB alumni, supporters save geology field course, giving students hands-on experience
The Summer Field capstone is a four-week research-intensive class where students and instructors travel across California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Montana studying the Earth’s geological secrets. The course was nearly canceled in 2020 by COVID-19 restrictions and prohibitive costs. Chair Rick Behl reached out to alumni and supporters who raised the funds to continue The Beach’s essential course.
CSULB nursing alumna, donor extols health benefits of Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden
After graduating from CSULB with a bachelor’s degree from the School of Nursing, Kristie Koepplin ’93 became a member of the garden. She would return as an alumna for special membership events, including the Tea & Tour. She eventually signed up to become a volunteer and joined the Friends of the Garden Council, where she served as president. She’s been volunteering and donating to the garden ever since.
OUR FELLOW DONORS
“I have worked in the CSULB College of the Arts for more than 20 years and am a 1990 alumna of the Theatre Arts Department married to an alum (Jamieson Price ’95) of the Theatre Arts Department. We are also parents of two CSULB graduates and a current CSULB sophomore. My husband and I have given to CSULB over the years when we could could, and are happy to be participating in the paycheck deduction program so that each month a small portion of my paycheck goes to support our exceptional Vocal Jazz program and our Film and Electronic Arts Department. The Bob Cole Conservatory Vocal Jazz Program is one of the best in the nation and continues to offer exceptional vocal ensemble training that regularly leads to professional careers as singers, arrangers, and vocal jazz educators. We are regular attendees of Vocal Jazz concerts and want to ensure our students are able to take advantage of travel and performance opportunities that arise. Our film students regularly dominate the CSU Media Arts Festival and seeing the strong storytelling that comes from this program encourages us to keep on giving what we can.”
Bethany Price
Communications and Outreach Coordinator, College of the Arts
DID YOU KNOW?
Over the past three years, Strategic Communications' brand journalism content (the stories and profiles published on csulb.edu/news) has seen a 56% increase in pageview engagement: growing from 112,846 total pageviews in 2019-2020 to 176,713 total pageviews in 2021-2022.
STAFF SPOTLIGHT
Meet Mary Ann Messing
Mary Ann Messing began her career at The Beach in 1993 as a gifts processor at the 49er Foundation. Today, she oversees those operations and more – “much, much more.”
As director of advancement services, Mary Ann leads a department responsible for maintaining the Advance system database (including alumni records and inputting all new graduates); gift processing (entering gifts and pledges, recording gifts and acknowledging donors); working with donors; 49er Foundation operations; generating annual endowment reports; serving as a point-of-contact for giving inquiries; and working with donors.
“For me, it’s a blessing to come to work each day and see such goodness expressed through philanthropy and by people who make gifts to the university,” she said. “The team's dedication to our mission makes it a joy to be here.”
