More than 350 students, faculty and staff filled the University Union Ballroom at Sacramento State Thursday to hear University President Alexander Gonzalez give his final campus-wide address.

Gonzalez has served Sac State for almost 12 years, bringing the campus signage marking academic halls, new health and counseling services and hired 90 new faculty members over the past two years alone.

“Since I arrived here nearly 12 years ago, I’ve attempted to engage the university and integrate it with the greater community for everyone’s benefit,” said Gonzalez. “I heard from numerous alumni and regional business leaders that Sacramento State seemed to be aloof, if not out of touch, with the local community. I believe we have made major strides so that this is no longer the case.”

Those strides included an “It Feels Good to Give” pilot program, in which Wells Fargo customers were asked for a charitable donation while making an ATM transaction. As a result of this program, Sac State’s Veterans Success Center, which offers multifaceted help to student veterans and their dependants, received $8,750. This is in addition to a $50,000 grant made my Wells Fargo last year.

Gonzalez also said while serving as president the university has tackled sustainability issues, bringing scientific research to Sac State while helping repair the university system’s damaged budget.

“Here at Sac State, with your help, we are working on the issue of sustainability on many fronts,” said Gonzalez. “While we have been meeting our enrollment targets, we are also looking at our programs and the issues associated with providing the best quality along with the best use of our resources.”

Sac State recently received $300,000 from the Keck Foundation, one of the nation’s largest philanthropic foundations.

The grant is currently funding the Sustainable Interdisciplinary Research to Inspire Undergraduate Success Project, a three-stage project designed to integrate, link and evaluate scientific research across 12 existing labs in the Department of Biological Sciences.

This is side by side with another sustainability project called iWest, the Institute for Water, Energy, Sustainability and Technology, designed to fuse together science and policymaking.

Student Affairs and Academic Affairs have also collaborated on a series of grants that resulted in $220,000 to support new initiatives in student success.

Other highlights of the president’s address included a center for global engagement, a university rebranding campaign and new student housing.

Vice President for Public Affair and Advocacy Phil Garcia has worked with Gonzalez for 10 years and said the president has always thought to put students first.

“I’ve been here for 10 years and I have had the privilege of working for and with President Gonzalez, and I really believe in my heart that it’s been special because I’ve been a part of this renaissance that has occurred over his tenure,” said Garcia. “He has always thought to put students first, and has kept a close eye on what we do and how we do it.”

Although many improvements have been made to Sac State over the last decade, the president insists more needs to be done to bring California’s university system back to a sustainable operating budget.

“We’re still underfunded,” said Gonzalez. “I think the governor and the legislature and the people of California have to invest in higher education. We cannot do it on the back of students.”

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Federika Harmsen agrees with Gonzalez that the best way to improve higher education funding is through advocacy and faculty involvement.

“Ten percent of our budget is for faculty development, classes for the students and instructional labs,” said Harmsen. “There is a committee that is being formed to decide how that 10 percent will be used; we have to advocate.”

No matter who the new leader of Sac State will be, Gonzalez hopes the university and community will welcome the new president, working with him or her on continuing improvements and accomplishments, and promises to return as a faculty member.

“I hope everyone here today and throughout the university and community will embrace my successor and work with her or him,” said Gonzalez. “You can rest assured that I will do everything I can do to make the transition as smooth as possible, and I will continue to focus all my effort on serving you and Sacramento State.”