Recovery with Equity

“Consistent with our quest to continue improving educational outcomes at the California State University, and expanding access to a top-quality university education for students throughout California, I welcome the Taskforce’s recommendations, and commit to redoubling our efforts to ensure all students thrive despite the challenges faced during the pandemic. The Taskforce’s forward-thinking recommendations will ensure that the CSU prepares future generations of diverse leaders of all backgrounds who will lead and contribute to the Golden State’s recovery as well as its robust growth, benefitting all communities, in the years to come.”

— Joseph I. Castro, Chancellor, California State University

“This roadmap will put our education ecosystem on a trajectory to recover with the commitment and resolve needed to close opportunity gaps for students of color and educate the workforce that will fuel economic growth that lifts up all communities. The Governor’s goals and Taskforce’s recommendations complement the California Community Colleges Vision for Success, the system’s strategic blueprint that puts student equity and achievement at the core of all our work.”

— Eloy Ortiz Oakley, Chancellor, California Community Colleges

“Post-pandemic recovery will be critical for all of California’s higher education sectors, and we must strengthen our collaborations for our students and communities. The private, nonprofit sector of California’s higher education system serves a public purpose and is dedicated to ensuring inclusive, streamlined pathways for student success.”

— Kristen Soares, President, Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities

“California’s recovery must maintain a laser focus on closing equity and opportunity gaps experienced by communities who were already at an historic disadvantage and were hardest hit by the pandemic. That means all of our institutions and systems of education must be proactive and prioritize strategies—and reimagine structures—that level the playing field for all students. Collaboration between our K–12 and higher education systems will be essential to eliminating barriers and fostering the talent and success of all learners. The recommendations in this roadmap are not only ambitious, but actionable.”

— Tony Thurmond, State Superintendent of Public Instruction

“California benefits when all students can reach their full potential. The thoughtful recommendations in Recovery with Equity: A Roadmap for Higher Education After the Pandemic are aimed at the critical priorities of increasing student success while closing equity gaps and disparities in degree attainment. In building back from the pandemic, we should expand pathways and supports that accelerate success in K–12 and reduce barriers to postsecondary access and completion, including Linked Learning pathways and dual credit options that smooth transitions to our systems of higher education, and systems alignment that will create streamlined paths to students’ goals and will yield long term benefits to our state.”

— Linda Darling-Hammond, President, California State Board of Education

“We are all stronger when equity gaps are closed and all Californians can develop their talents and fulfill their potential. California is home to the most high-quality, diverse workforce in the nation thanks, in part, to our systems of higher education. This roadmap charts a course for California, as we work to better position our state and workforce for the changing realities and demands of the future. I encourage all leaders in California’s business community to review these recommendations, as we work together to build a stronger and more resilient state economy.”

— Dee Dee Myers, Senior Advisor to the Governor and Director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz)