Fram Virjee

In March 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic spread, Cal State Fullerton took the unprecedented step of going virtual, with very short notice. While there have been significant expenses in this pivot, including ensuring that all Titan students and faculty have access to the necessary technology, the university’s more than 44,000 students and faculty made the transition successfully, with no decline in graduation rates and almost all services running virtually.

“We are going to come out of this, and on the other side, we’ll be better,” CSUF President Fram Virjee told local business leaders at the North Orange County Chamber of Commerce recently.  “The new normal, post-COVID, is going to be a hybrid of working virtually and on-site. That is the experience our students are undergoing right now.”

A Master Plan for CSUF as the Campus Enters a New Era

Coronavirus hasn’t been the only news at Cal State Fullerton in recent months. The university is also celebrating the approval of its master plan, which includes such upgrades as a new events/sports facility and innovation center, and expanded usage of the Fullerton Arboretum, which will stay in place and be used for interdisciplinary research and activities.

Efforts to ease the congestion around campus are also front and center in the master plan, including expanding on-campus housing.

“With this approval, we are now beginning work on the master plan as we speak. Remember, this is a 15-year plan,” said Virjee. “One of the things that might not be so obvious to the community but is quite important, is developing a new flow for traffic on campus. There will be no traffic running through the core of the campus, but it will be diverted in an oval shape around the perimeter of the campus. In fact, we are already beginning to implement that. We are widening the perimeter roads and creating bike/pedestrian paths on campus.”

Read more of Virjee’s remarks, including the campus’ commitment to diversity in this time of social change and how the community can get involved at CSUF, in this CSUF News article.