Commendation in Honor of Ron Cortez

Vice President Cortez’s integrity, loyalty, and devotion to the University was evident every day he worked here; and

Vice President Cortez truly valued the academic mission of SF State and worked hard to fund needs that were a priority to support students, the faculty, and the curriculum; and

Vice President Cortez was a true partner in shared governance, always eager to collaborate and consult with Academic Senate on issues of importance to the University Community; and

Vice President Cortez not only consulted regularly with the Academic Senate, but also was responsive to faculty and staff concerns; and

Vice President Cortez worked collaboratively with Academic Affairs and built a strong partnership with the Provost and Deans to serve SF State.

Vice President Cortez was willing to take calculated risks in the pursuit of improved service to faculty, students and staff; and

Vice President Cortez understood the importance of transparency in all aspects decision-making; and

Vice President Cortez appreciated the University as a cohesive organizational unit that best serves students when it operates efficiently and openly; and

Vice President Cortez brought a greater focus to the health and safety of our students, faculty, staff and the community through strengthening our environmental health and safety program, improving our buildings, and providing equipment and training that will sustain us well into the future and surely improve our health and well-being; and

While advocating for clarity in data around enrollments and budget, Vice President Cortez unfailingly gave these numbers a human face by advocating for student success as the guiding priority of all data-driven decision-making; and

Vice President Cortez led the development of SF State's first online operating budget, to advance the transparency and understanding of the university's complex budget; and