The university’s first-ever mobile application was unveiled in May to rave reviews from the campus community. The app aims to provide students and visitors alike with a better campus experience.

“We’re dedicated to reaching our students in a way that will resonate, and that means going mobile,” said President William A. Covino. “We’re very excited about this application because students, staff, faculty and visitors will be able to engage with one another through the platform, and better utilize campus resources. It’s an important step forward for the University.”

The mobile app was developed internally by the Office of Communications and Public Affairs and Information Technology Services. Los Angeles-based developer Mobile Roadie built the application on its award-winning platform. The app reached more than 12,000 downloads within four months.

The core features of the app include a transportation hub with up-to-the-minute bus and rail arrival information, an interactive campus map and events calendar. But by far the most talked about features are the live-stream of the line at Starbucks on campus and the social media section, which allows users to have conversations inside the app while signed on through Facebook or Twitter.

The application is available for download in Apple’s iTunes store and on Google Play.

Cal State L.A. has received the invite to participate in the next EcoCAR 3: Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition. The only university representing California, Cal State L.A. will face stiff competition against 16 other universities, including the Ohio State University and Virginia Tech.

“Participating in this highly selective competition gives our students the opportunity to learn real-world technology and engineering skills, the ability to work as a team, and to commit themselves to building a more sustainable environment for Los Angeles,” said Dean Emily Allen of the College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology.

The EcoCAR 3 team will have four years (2014-18) to redesign and re-engineer a Chevy Camaro in an effort to reduce the energy consumption and greenhouse emissions of the vehicle, while maintaining consumer acceptability, performance, utility and safety. At the end of the fourth year, the student-built vehicles will participate in an over-the-road event, raising the stakes for vehicle readiness, dependability and safety.

EcoCAR2 Update: Cal State L.A.’s EcoCAR2 team, which was featured in the Fall 2013 issue, completed its third year of the competition in June. And although they didn’t win, it was a great learning experience for our engineering students. In fact, four team members—Chris Reid, Yessenia Toscano, Guadalupe Banales and David Schmidt—were all hired by General Motors as a direct result of the competition.

The Class of 2014 got a little extra pomp in their circumstance with a complete revamping of this year’s commencement ceremonies.

The new format called for smaller, more personalized events for each college, which were spread across three days, from June 13-15. At each of the seven ceremonies, every graduate’s name was called as he or she walked across stage to shake the hand of President William A. Covino. And the master's hoodings and diploma case presentations were aired on the Jumbotron to the cheers and hollers of supportive family and friends.

For the first time in many years, the campus hosted the presentation of a CSU Honorary Doctorate. Regional labor leader Maria Elena Durazo (pictured), executive secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, was honored during Saturday morning’s College of Arts and Letters ceremony.

Additionally, Cal State L.A. graduated its inaugural class from the doctor of nursing practice (DNP) degree, a joint program launched with Cal State Fullerton and Cal State Long Beach in 2012.

The College of Extended Studies and International Programs has a new name that better captures the essence of its evolving work: College of Professional and Global Education.

For more than six decades, Cal State L.A.’s extended and international education units have been committed to serving the institution and its students. The names of these formerly independent and disparate units have evolved over the years as the University has increased its focus and emphasis on engagement, lifelong learning, and comprehensive internationalization.

“As we embark on the next evolutionary phase of our great University, it is imperative that we accurately portray to the campus and external communities the importance and value of this unique college within our institution,” says President William A. Covino.

The College of Professional and Global Education is responsible for delivering innovative classes and certificate and degree programs to meet the educational needs of the citizens of Los Angeles and beyond. The college also provides services for international students and scholars and is the lead campus entity on all matters pertaining to global education.

“The new college name signals the investment that Cal State L.A. is making to serve the needs of our students, faculty and community. I am excited to work with Dean Eric Bullard and the college leadership team as they strive to build programs and services to meet the needs of 21st century learners,” says Interim Provost Cheryl Ney.

In March, Cal State L.A. hosted House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Judy Chu, former U.S. Secretary of State Hilda Solis and State Sen. Holly Mitchell for “When Women Succeed, America Succeeds.” Discussed at the event was a new economic agenda for women focused on fair compensation, paid leave, a healthy work-family balance, and affordable child care.

“We’re privileged to have you all here for this important discussion of a national economic agenda for women and families. I cannot think of a better place to have this dialogue than Cal State L.A.–nearly 60 percent of our student population is women, and 60 percent of this year’s entering students are the first in their families to go to college,” said President William A. Covino in his introduction. “With these students in mind, at Cal State L.A., we pride ourselves on being an institution dedicated to the public good, to access, success, and service that reaches throughout and beyond greater Los Angeles.”

Following the discussion, Chu hosted a Jobs Resource Fair on campus with participants including Planned Parenthood of San Gabriel Valley, Mothers’ Club, Foothill Workforce Investment Board, Asian Pacific Islander Small Business Program, the American Association of University Women, and the Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau.

Over the 2013-14 academic year, 30 students and recent alumni led workshops and talked to their peers at 15 California State University campuses in an effort to educate them about health care options available through the Affordable Care Act and encourage them to enroll.

Now that enrollment has ended for the year, it is clear that the project has been a great success.

The number of uninsured students on the 15 campuses has been reduced by approximately 60 percent, from about 100,000 (25-30 percent of students) before Covered California open enrollment to about 40,000 as of May 2014. This reduction leaves just 10 percent of students on these campuses still uninsured, according to a new poll taken by the CSU Health Insurance Education Project, the $1.25 million effort funded by Covered California Outreach and Education and spearheaded by Cal State L.A. Department of Public Health Chair Walter Zelman.

The outcome of the project was announced during Cal State L.A.’s 2014 Commencement Week, with President William A. Covino noting “while we don’t know where all our graduates are going from here, we do know that many more of them will have health insurance coverage when they get there. And that is something that we can all feel good about.”

The 15 campuses on which the project placed student staff to educate students about the Affordable Care Act and Covered California constitute 87 percent of the total CSU student population of about 447,000. Poll results also reveal that about one-third of CSU students on the 15 staffed campuses signed up for Covered California or Medi-Cal.

Additionally, one-third of all student respondents reported that at least one family member signed up for Covered California or Medi-Cal. In total, the poll found that approximately 260,000 students and family members signed up for one of the two programs.