President de la Torre to SDSU: Get set for ‘a year of opportunity and audacity’
At the annual All-University Convocation, attended by hundreds of faculty, staff and student leaders, SDSU President Adela de la Torre said the university is standing up for its historic mission, core beliefs and community engagement.
San Diego State University President Adela de la Torre opened the 2025-26 academic year by praising SDSU’s leadership in California higher education, highlighting recent accomplishments in research and community engagement, and a promise to pursue the truth and amplify diverse voices in challenging times.
SDSU now occupies a truly unique space, de la Torre told nearly 1,000 faculty, staff and student leaders — some of them new to the university — during her eighth All-University Convocation on Thursday, an event held at Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union.
De la Torre applauded SDSU’s recognition as an R1, a Phase I strategic plan priority. Of the 187 R1s nationwide, only 30 – like SDSU – are designated Hispanic-Serving Institutions, with 16 of those also recognized as Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions. SDSU is also among only seven R1s that hold the Carnegie Community-Engaged designation. And only one R1 – SDSU alone – has Division I athletics while also recognized as a Carnegie Opportunity University, a distinction highlighting the institution’s ability to combine affordability with strong graduate earnings.
During “a year of opportunity and audacity,” de la Torre said SDSU looks forward to reaccreditation from Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WSCUC), a process that begins in the spring and is required for universities to maintain federal funding. Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to participate in the WSCUC re-accreditation plan during the new academic year.
De la Torre spoke to SDSU’s purpose as an educational institution where “in this moment, leadership is not optional.”
She cited a number of capital improvements in San Diego and Imperial Valley and new partnerships. In July, SDSU announced a new MOU with the San Diego Community College District to strengthen transfer pathways and establish a first-of-its-kind academic facility at SDSU Mission Valley. August marked the opening of the new SDSU Imperial Valley Sciences and Engineering Laboratories in Brawley, followed by a groundbreaking ceremony for SDSU Mission Valley’s first residential and retail development. Construction for the Evolve Student Housing project is also underway.
“This is our moment to take everything SDSU stands for -- equity, excellence and impact -- and apply it with precision to the challenges and possibilities ahead,” de la Torre said. “Each of you has a role to play this year in projects that will enable and shape our future.”
Federal rollbacks in student aid, Title IX protections and DEI programs have created what de la Torre called a “challenging moment” for SDSU and all of higher education. The undocumented community, Dreamers and international scholars, she said, all face uncertainty from shifts in immigration policy, rollbacks in student aid and funding for DEI programs.
“As escalating national polarization around curriculum and academic freedom threatens the heart of what we do, we must continue to have the courage to pursue the truth, amplify diverse voices and challenge conventional wisdom,” de la Torre said. “We not only owe this to ourselves but also we must continue to be a beacon of light for those who desperately need our voices in the community.”
“Your work changes lives,” she told the audience. “It’s because of you and our fantastic student body that SDSU has not flinched. We’ve innovated….and we’ve stood our ground. Through community-engaged research, equity-minded hiring and inclusive pedagogy, we’re not just weathering the storm. We’re reshaping what’s possible.”
SDSU “is a model for the deep intertwining of academic rigor and societal impact,” de la Torre said in a look ahead to expectations for the 2025-26 year, “and we are poised for transformative progress and growth.”
SDSU’s endowment, she said, has now surpassed $500 million for the first time. “These are vital funds that provide student scholarships, faculty endowments and new facilities ― and every dollar donated represents trust in our ability to define and execute our vision.”
The convocation also continued a tradition of honoring the exceptional work of faculty and staff.
The annual Alumni Distinguished Faculty Awards were presented by William Tong, provost and senior vice president of Academic Affairs, and Brianna Bennett, president of the SDSU Alumni Board of Advisors.
“SDSU is an extraordinary university, in large part because of our extraordinary faculty,” Tong said. “Among them are masterful, inspirational teachers; phenomenal researchers; committed and engaged citizens of our university community; passionate leaders of their scholarly disciplines both nationally and internationally; compassionate servants of our SDSU communities and many who actually excel in all of these areas of professional endeavor.”
This year’s honorees are:
- Irene Lara, College of Arts and Letters
- Steve Gill, Fowler College of Business
- Bonnie Kraemer, College of Education
- Ping Lu, College of Engineering
- Mari Zúñiga, College of Health and Human Services
- Kaye Sweetser, College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts
- Sarah Mattson, College of Sciences
- David Kanaan, SDSU Imperial Valley
Also recognized were the Presidential Staff Excellence Awards recipients for 2024-25: Joanne Rullan, Patrick Flanigan, Naedean Anderson, Teresa Couri, Miranda Elliget, Rick Gulizia, Michelle Lenoue, Kimberly Kennelly and Julie Pickrel.
The university’s fifth annual Lifetime Achievement staff award recipient was Cristina Sanchez, coordinator of Graduate Programs and Evaluations in the College of Graduate Studies.
University Senate Chair Stephen Schellenberg and Associated Students President Kareen Holstrom, representing bodies that are both part of SDSU’s tradition of shared governance, also spoke at the convocation.
Schellenberg called attention to “the broader national and global forces shaping our lives: political strife, attacks on intellectual freedom, economic uncertainty and federal deepening of long-standing systemic inequities.”
Schellenberg also said: “Within higher education, we continue to navigate public pressure, challenging budgets, and cultural headwinds as we pursue our mission,” he said. “Even so, we persevere—not with naïveté, but with courage, clarity and a steadfast belief in the power of public education to transform lives and communities.”
Holstrom, a fourth-year student from Claremont, California, said A.S. goals in 2025-26 focus on belonging, visibility and empowerment. She noted that A.S. last year passed $1 million in cumulative donations to its Aztecs Rock Hunger fundraiser, and hopes to forge partnerships through its college councils to bolster contributions for the next campaign, Oct. 27-Nov. 30.
