DR. WATSON REMARKS
IMPERIAL VALLEY COMMUNITY BREAKFAST
MAY 9, 2002 8 AM-10AM
BARBARA WORTH RESORT, HOLTVILLE, CA

DR. WATSON SPEAKING TIME: APPROX 5 MINS

 Good Morning, and welcome to our Community Breakfast kicking off UCSD Chancellor Robert Dynes' visit to the Imperial County area.

The Imperial Valley remains an integral part of the UCSD community -

And we are happy to see people from the county in the audience today that make up this important partnership - including city and legislative officials, civic and community group representatives, students, school representatives, UCSD alumni and other guests.

I would like to thank you for your continued interest in UCSD, and for coming out today to meet Chancellor Dynes, and to learn more about how we are working with the community through key outreach initiatives to enhance the college-going rates of Imperial County students.

The basic mission of these initiatives is to motivate and prepare students from low-income and traditionally underrepresented backgrounds for college and career success, including admission to UCSD and other UC campuses.

One of the major challenges facing universities today is how to increase the number of underrepresented and first-generation college students.

What is becoming increasingly clear is that we as a society cannot expect to boost the presence of these youths in our colleges without focused efforts to prepare them early academically in their pre-college years.

What we are realizing is that such college-prep efforts, especially when administered as early as elementary and middle school, can have a significant impact on increasing these students' learning motivation and academic performance.

This translates into increased chances for college admission, including admission to UCSD and other UC schools.

At UCSD, we have specific programs and staff dedicated to that purpose in Imperial County.

For instance, the Imperial Valley Office of UCSD's Early Academic Outreach Program (EAOP) has been an integral link to college preparatory services in the Valley since the office opened in 1980.

Since that time, the EAOP office - through partnerships with county schools, colleges, parents and other segments -- has literally helped thousands of students in the area realize their dream of a college education.

Many have returned to Imperial Valley, serving as teachers, counselors, school administrators, attorneys and other professionals.

And our Upward Bound Math & Science Program, introduced less than 3 years ago, has begun yielding encouraging college-prep results in Imperial County -

While a sophisticated UCSD Online Distance Tutoring Program soon to be begun at Calexico High School will allow students there to receive online tutoring in math class from UCSD undergraduates stationed miles away on the university's campus.

The EAOP Imperial Valley Office currently provides an array of informational, motivational and academic services to more than 5,000 students of diverse backgrounds at 22 elementary, middle schools and high schools.

These services include practice testing sessions for the PSAT/SATI exams; summer math and writing camps; workshops on college financial aid, the UC application process; campus visits, one-on- academic counseling, and college orientation sessions for parents.

And of the approximately 5090 high school seniors the EAOP Imperial Valley Office serves each year, about 50 percent are eligible to attend UCSD or other UC institutions upon graduation.

The other seniors in the program are eligible to attend other four-year or two-year institutions of their choice.

Our Upward Bound Math & Science Program, in place since 1999 at three Imperial County schools, is designed to motivate and prepare high school students to pursue college degrees in math, science, computer science and engineering.

Of the 14 high school seniors in the program, nine are applying to University of California campuses, and all 14 seniors are expected to attend college in the fall of 2002.

And, three of these students in the Upward Bound Math & Science Program are among the top 4 percent of their class and are guaranteed admission to at least one UC campus.

In the weeks ahead, you'll be hearing more about a new UCSD Online Distance Tutoring Program at Calexico High as this projects nears fruition.

The project makes use of a specially-equipped "web cam" computer lab at the school that will allow students to see, hear and communicate in writing with their undergraduate tutors located at UCSD as the undergraduates assist them with math during class and after school.

Complementing these ambitious initiatives is our partnership with other student outreach entities, such as the California Student Opportunity and Access Program (Cal-SOAP) of San Diego and Imperial counties, and the Native American Tribal Council.

We are very proud of these and other initiatives, and our partnerships with the Imperial Valley community, in the promise that such programs hold in affecting the college-going rates of area students.

We are also very interested in hearing your views, challenges and questions on how we can continue to work together to ensure that Imperial County students receive the highest quality college education.

Again, thank you for your interest in UCSD.



  



 
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