Several Cal State Long Beach student affairs faculty members and a handful of students crowded in to the Karl Anatol Center to hear William E. Hudson Jr., a finalist for the vice president of student services position, speak at an open forum Wednesday.
Hudson, who currently serves as the vice president of student affairs at Florida A&M University, said that he wants students to be able to graduate in four years and get the most out of their degrees.
“We should [pursue] graduation in four years,” Hudson said. “It is all about the students and will always be about the students.”
Hudson is a graduate of Florida A&M University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in counseling education.
Hudson also worked at Florida State University as the associate director of the Center for Academic Retention and Enhancement, an outreach and support center that aims to provide equity and access to students who are educationally or socioeconomically disadvantaged.
At the forum, Hudson discussed branding CSULB and targeting elementary and middle school students for future recruitment.
“Students in elementary school should be wearing the [CSULB] shirts,” Hudson said. “[CSULB] offers a great education for a great price.”
Hudson said he also wants to set up programs to help connect students to careers in their respective fields, as well as create a better connection between student affairs and academic affairs.
Hudson said in addition to early recruitment, he also wants to provide scholarships and paid internships for students who excel academically, which he believes would set CSULB apart from other universities, such as the University of Southern California and the University of California, Los Angeles.
He said he also wants students to be taught more critical thinking before they graduate.
“T-shirts are not equal trades for credit cards, but many students don’t know that,” Hudson said.
Hudson, who has spent most of his life in Florida, said he decided to apply for the job at CSULB because he looks for growth and challenges. He said he also believes that he can make an immediate impact for students at CSULB.
“I go with my emotions and I felt good about Long Beach,” Hudson said.
The next forum will be held with Carmen Tillery Taylor, the vice president for student affairs and dean of students at Indiana State University, on Friday at 10:45 a.m. in the Lecture Hall, Room 150.