For the life of me, I couldn’t tell you why Sacramento State President Alexander Gonzalez was given the Businessman of the Year award by the Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

There were two other businessmen who were up for the award, but the Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s Interim Executive Director Celia Cortez couldn’t give their names out. She said it might be “embarrassing” to the nominees who didn’t receive the honor.

Cortez said that the award is given to “local individuals and organizations that are making a difference in our community.”

But what qualifies as “making a difference?”

Cortez gave four reasons why Gonzalez was given the award:

-For the physical changes he had made around campus.

-For the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the university and then-Mayor Heather Fargo.

-For getting private support for the university.

-For Gonzalez’s Destination 2010 plan.

Looking at the reasons why Gonzalez won the award, I couldn’t blame the other two nominees for feeling embarrassed.

Where, in any of those four points, has Gonzalez made a difference in Sacramento’s community within the past year?

Let’s tackle this one item at a time; starting with the “physical changes” to our campus.

There was only one significant “physical change” to Sacramento State in 2008: the Eli and Edythe Broad Field house. It’s a gym that’s only usable by student-athletes, and not for the rest of the student body or the general public. Next.

Let’s look at the Memorandum of Understanding. It’s an agreement between the city of Sacramento and Sac State to discuss, as President Gonzalez put it, “the next phase of development for our campus.” Essentially, it’s an agreement to probably do something at some point in time to somehow enhance Sac State. Best of all: a Memorandum of Understanding isn’t even legally binding. Next.

Usually, private support comes in the form of donations from alumni and private businesses. This kind of private support is what’s funding the Recreation and Wellness Center that’s being worked on.

Sometimes though, some universities decide to be silly and let companies take over some of its operations. In this case, I mean the Hornet Bookstore.

Having a food court is one thing. Letting a corporation own your bookstore is a whole other matter. According to a March 13, 2008 State Hornet article, the bookstore is “a University Enterprises, Inc.-funded project managed by a private company.”

That private company is the Follett Higher Education Group. The Hornet Bookstore is managed by Follett, according to Follett’s “Bookstore Management Location” listing.

When corporations take over basic functions within a university, the purpose of what the college is intended to be shifts a bit. Instead of the book provider being a part of a system devoted to education, the bookstore becomes instinctively devoted to making money. It’s why a single book can cost $120, and only be worth $60 or less when a student sells it back.

Universities which own their own bookstores, like the University of Arizona, are willing to buy back books for more money than any other store in the area.

Private support should be welcomed by universities, especially in these hard times, but not at the sacrifice of the student body. Next.

Destination 2010 is Gonzalez’s initiative to improve academic programs and create a more welcoming campus. It may be the only legitimate reason I can see for why President Gonzalez was chosen for Businessman of the Year.

The Destination 2010 progress report, as posted on Sac State’s website, gives a very hopeful glance into how Sac State wants to become a bigger part of the Sacramento area community.

But it couldn’t be the main reason why President Gonzalez received Businessman of the Year, because his initiative is almost five years old. There has been no major outreach from Sac State within the past year. And, in spite of that, Gonzalez was still named Businessman of the Year.

The fact that Gonzalez got this award makes me wonder just how little the other two nominees did for the community.

David Loret de mola can be reached at [email protected]