CSUSB’s Palm Desert campus establishes presidential fellows program
City News Service
PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) – Cal State San Bernardino’s Palm Desert campus announced the establishment of a presidential fellows program today honoring former President Gerald Ford, becoming the first California university to join the program.
The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Fellows Program aims to provide students with advanced leadership and mentorship opportunities, and will seek applicants who embody the values of the 38th president of the United States, who called Rancho Mirage home after he left office. Officials said those values included civic engagement, ethical leadership and bipartisan cooperation.
The program is open to any major at any level of education. Applicants must join a student organization registered with the Office of Student Leadership and Engagement, and will need to accrue 10 points during the candidacy semester in three categories of participation: regular meeting attendance, event attendance and service.
Step two is becoming a fellow and maintaining that status, including accruing seven additional points every semester and networking with the program’s community, according to organizers.
Those selected will engage in leadership training workshops, public service projects in the Coachella Valley, training in civil dialogue and bipartisan cooperation, one-on-one mentorship from community leaders, seminars, lectures and hands-on experiences with diverse communities, officials said.
“Becoming the only California chapter of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Fellows Program underscores our commitment to preparing the next generation of ethical leaders and engaged citizens,” said Kevin Grisham, professor of global studies and faculty advisor of the program on campus.
Other education institutions involved in the program include the University of Michigan, Hope College in Michigan and Middle Tennessee State University. Ford was originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan.
“Grand Rapids and the Coachella Valley are bounded together by President Ford’s legacy of hard work, public service, personal integrity, bipartisan cooperation and courageous action,” officials said.
As of Wednesday, the program was going through the chartering process. It was not immediately clear when it will start or what the deadline will be to apply.
More information can be obtained by contacting kgrisham@csusb.edu, or 909-537-8276.