Impact of university budget cuts on community and businesses to be discussed

SAN FRANCISCO, April 27, 2004 -- A town hall meeting to highlight the impact of the California State University (CSU) system on the local community and businesses will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday in Jack Adams Hall of the Cesar Chavez Student Center on the San Francisco State University campus.

Elected officials will hear from various sectors of the community including Bay Area business leaders, public school officials and members of the SFSU community. SFSU Associate Professor of Economics Michael Potepan will present his recent study that reveals that every $1 invested in the CSU results in a $5 increase in money available in the community. Panelists expected to speak on the impact of CSU on education include Tomas Almaguer, dean of The College of Ethnic Studies at SFSU, and David Celoria, principal of Marshall Elementary School in San Francisco. Presenters from the business world will include: Marty Vanderlaan from Genentech; Barry Shiller, retired vice president of Elantech; and Winthrop Marshall, CFO of Christian Church Homes of Northern California, a developer of affordable housing.

Speakers from health care providers including Sutter Health and NICOS, an umbrella group for agencies delivering health care in the Chinese community, will discuss the close relationship between the CSU campuses and surrounding communities. A representative of the California Federation of Labor will talk about how the availability of accessible public education helps drive the economy.