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Hello Dolphins,
Welcome to the 2025/2026 academic year at California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI). We are celebrating our 23rd year and remain committed to providing each of you with an education rooted in our four pillars of multicultural engagement, international perspectives, integrative studies, and community engagement.
This University was founded to serve you: the students of the greater Ventura County region, Santa Barbara and beyond. You give purpose to the work that our faculty and staff do here every day, and we are all dedicated to your success. During your time here, I invite you to think about your “secret sauce,” as I call it. The “secret sauce” is a combination of your own lived experiences and the knowledge you gain in your studies. The knowledge you will acquire will have far greater meaning and impact if you can connect it to the unique aspects of yourself that set you apart from others. Bring the experiences you’ve gained from your family and your work into the classroom; look for connections between those experiences and the material you are studying. I can assure you that this will make that content even more interesting and give you greater insight into your post-graduation plans.
There are numerous opportunities across disciplines for you to take part in to test the making of that “secret sauce.” Our Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) allows undergraduate students the opportunity to work alongside a faculty member over summer on a project, gaining direct research experience in the process -something usually reserved for graduate students at other institutions. Additionally, our peer mentorship and peer-to-peer support programs, such as peer tutors in the Learning Resource Center (LRC) and the Writing and Multiliteracy Center (WMC), as well as programs like Peer Education and Equity Programs (PEEP), enable you to support your fellow Dolphins while enhancing your own learning. These experiences can greatly enrich your time at CI.
Lastly, I would recommend that you take advantage of the expertise of our Academic and Faculty Advisors when you are selecting classes and establishing your majors. Also, utilizing the Degree Planner will help you map out your coming semesters, helping ease the registration process.
Again, I welcome you to CI and wish you much success in your time here as a Dolphin. I’ll see you in a few years crossing that Commencement stage.
Sincerely,
Richard Yao, PhD
President
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