From the President's Desk
Welcome to the Spring 2024 edition of Washington Square: The Magazine!
It has been an honor and privilege to be a part of the Spartan community for the past 16 months, and the Investiture ceremony in February filled me with gratitude for the inspiration and positive energy I have felt since I first arrived in January 2023. During my Investiture address, I spoke about how San José State University is uniquely positioned to be a major innovator and change agent as the world continues to evolve around the ever-growing capabilities of artificial intelligence and machine learning.
SJSU is the place where many leaders have taken their first step over our 167-year history, and where many more will over the next 167 years and beyond. Leaders take action, and action requires doing — and Spartans are put in positions to learn by doing through our hands-on learning opportunities in every college. As SJSU continues to serve as what I like to call the epicenter of the future, these experiential learning opportunities not only set our students apart when they enter the workforce, they also help students discover who they are, what they are passionate about, how they can make a difference, and why their life experiences and skills make them invaluable.
I hope you will find this digital edition of Washington Square to be enlightening and inspiring. What our students do here really matters, and in a time where the worth of a college degree is being widely discussed, there is no better place for young adults in their formative years to gain hands-on experience that will prepare them for a lifetime of success.
I appreciate your continued commitment to SJSU. I look forward to showcasing the history of this great institution and even more exciting opportunities in our foreseeable future.
Sincerely,
Dr. Cynthia Teniente-Matson President
Follow the president on social media
Muwekma Ohlone SJSU Area Land Acknowledgement
The San José State University community recognizes that the present-day Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, with an enrolled Bureau of Indian Affairs documented membership of over 550, is comprised of all of the known surviving American Indian lineages aboriginal to the San Francisco Bay region who trace their ancestry through the Missions Santa Clara, San José, and Dolores, during the advent of the Hispano-European empire into Alta California; and who are the successors and living members of the sovereign, historic, previously Federally Recognized Verona Band of Alameda County.
Furthermore, the San José State University community recognizes that the university is established within the Thámien Ohlone-speaking tribal ethnohistoric territory, which based upon the unratified federal treaties of 1851–1852, includes the unceded ancestral lands of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area. Some of the enrolled Muwekma lineages are descended from direct ancestors from the Thámien Ohlone tribal territory whose ancestors had affiliation with Mission Santa Clara.
The San José State University community also recognizes the importance of this land to the indigenous Muwekma Ohlone people of this region, and consistent with our principles of community and diversity strives to be good stewards on behalf of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe whose land we occupy.
Top photo: Jim Gensheimer.
Washington Square: San José State University's Magazine © 2024. All Rights Reserved