Students, staff and faculty voiced their concerns and suggestions on Sacramento State’s plans for the future as President Alexander Gonzalez spoke at the first of three town hall meetings this semester.

The discussion, which was held at noon on Wednesday in the University Union Hinde Auditorium, examined the academic impact of Gonzalez’s plan Destination 2010 over the next five years.

“Destination 2010 will change this campus,” Gonzalez said.

The president said he looked forward to hearing what other people thought about his vision of academic excellence, one part of the upgrades and developments planned for the university to make it a campus of choice for students, faculty, staff and the community by 2010.

“Today is about meeting the needs of students and faculty,” Gonzalez said.

Planners for the Destination 2010 project have started holding discussion forums with the different college departments and offices, focusing on faculty, staff and student planning for each strategy.

Mike Lee, an assistant planner for the project, said that by the end of the semester, he would bring all of the 80 plans together and move forward with the development, building it into the regular college budget process.

“It won’t be costly,” Lee said.

Cost wasn’t the only concern, as many faculty and students stood up to tell Gonzalez they were worried about program availability and technology problems in classrooms.

William Vizzard, professor and chairman for the criminal justice department, said the university’s programs were not all excellent.

“We shouldn’t assume that they all are,” Vizzard said.

He said Sac State needs better academic support, because students don’t leave the university with enough knowledge to make it in the career that they have chosen.

Vizzard said he thought the university needed to hold up better standards if it was to have academic excellence.

Assistant professor of biological sciences Ron Coleman said Sac State’s current policies allow for too many chances, such as making it too easy for students to drop classes.

“We need to portray to students that this is their chance and to make the best of it,” Coleman said.

One faculty member said he was concerned about athletics taking away from academics and asked Gonzalez how much the university planned to spend on football.

Gonzalez said he felt athletics would help the university get out into the community and get noticed for what it does.

“Athletics brings support to our campus,” Gonzalez said.

He said it would help academics because it attracts private donors like the Spanos family who donated $10 million dollars to the Recreation, Wellness and Events Center.

“Academics will always be what we do,” Gonzalez said.