Campus

CSUN’s world-class performing arts center, The Soraya, intentionally centers much of its programming around the central themes of the Road Map and embodies CSUN’s commitment to equity, inclusion and belonging to the San Fernando Valley community.

Recognized as the leader in cultural programming within the Los Angeles region, The Soraya provides extensive programming showcasing and celebrating our local Latinx, Armenian, Filipino, Indian, and Jewish communities, among many others.

Additionally, the Soraya has an extensive K-12 outreach program that provides culturally relevant classroom experience and matinee performances to over 10,000 students annually, most of whom come from traditionally underserved backgrounds.

The Division of Administration and Finance’s primary initiative is the creation of the Matador Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Neighborhood—a coalescence of all six strategic directions outlined in CSUN’s Road Map to the Future. The Matador Neighborhood creates an environment, filled with buildings and revitalized outdoor spaces, that fosters student success, inclusion, a sense of belonging, academic success, student health and well-being. Here, students from all backgrounds can connect and collaborate with classmates, faculty and staff, enriching their CSUN experience.

This larger initiative encapsulates three additional projects, which are currently underway:

• The Autodesk Technology Engagement Center will house CSUN’s Global Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) Innovation Hub and support increased access and success rates for Latinx and other traditionally underserved students.
• We helped the Autodesk Facility move through the design process and successfully into construction in 2023. Our goal is to complete this project in 2025. We have recently completed the project program and technical design criteria for the up-and-coming $62 million Matador Success and Inclusion Center (MSIC) and plan to award the project in the fall of 2024. The MISC will include identity-based resource centers, the Ethnic Studies Center for RACE, undergraduate research, community outreach spaces, and academic advising for student athletes.
• The Valera NEST is a student basic needs facility within the University Student Union, which will include a food pantry, student food preparation spaces, and career support resources. CSUN broke ground on this $20-million project in 2024, and we anticipate construction will finish in fall 2025.

In addition, we have begun the construction of an affordable student housing project. This new, 198-bed residential building will support CSUN students living on campus with the greatest financial need. This project is scheduled to conclude in 2026.

To continue improving CSUN as a workplace, our Human Resources department:

• Conduct bi-monthly “managers roundtable” sessions, which provide vital information and opportunities for sharing best practices to support employee success. More than 100 managers across divisions regularly attend these meetings.
• Developed comprehensive two-day onboarding sessions for new administrators, specifically highlighting CSUN’s history of activism and our Road Map commitments.
• Offer more than 100 training sessions for employees each year. These sessions include personal and professional development topics, which include but are not limited to:
  • Exposing hidden bias
  • Nurturing a culture of care
  • Creating ADA-accessible documents
  • Healthy living

In 2024, CSUN’s Department of Police Services continued its commitment to increasing equity, diversity and inclusion, both within the department and across our on-campus community. We expanded our crisis response unit to include a multidisciplinary partnership with counseling services, incorporating civilian counseling and response team members to support and care for students and others in need. Additionally, we created a civilian position, Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Community Outreach. The director primarily focuses on reaching out to traditionally marginalized communities and improving dialogue so we can better serve these communities.