CEPCO President/CEO Bob Linscheid named Vice Chairman of CSU Board of Trustees
By LARRY MITCHELL - Chico Enterprise Record Staff Writer
LONG BEACH — Bob Linscheid of Chico was named vice chairman of the California State University Board of Trustees Wednesday. His selection came at a meeting of the board in Long Beach. "I appreciate the acknowledgment of my colleagues," Linscheid, a Chico businessman, said in a phone interview Thursday. He is presumably in line to become chairman of the board at some point. Normally, when a chairman's term is up, he or she is succeeded by the vice chair. In November, Herbert Carter, who was vice chair of the board, became chairman after then-chairman Jeffrey Bleich was appointed ambassador to Australia by President Obama.
Linscheid has served on the Board of Trustees since 2005. Before that, he served on the CSU Alumni Council, representing Chico State University. The council promotes alumni interests and the CSU generally. It elects one member to the Board of Trustees, and Linscheid is that member. As vice-chairman, Linscheid said he plans to continue regularly visiting the various CSU campuses, something he has done during his tenure as a trustee. The purpose of those visits is to assure the campuses that "we have a board that cares about our students, staff and faculty," he said. Linscheid said he appreciates the governor's promise to direct more resources to higher education. "We need to get the investment in education, or the state will be in a deplorable condition," he said.
Linscheid earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Chico State, and he went to John F. Kennedy School of Law from 1982 to 1983. Since 1993, he has been president of The Linscheid Company, Inc. Among other things, he has been president of the Western Baseball League, general manager of the Chico Outlaws and president and CEO of the Chico Economic Planning Corp.
President Zingg addresses CEPCO Board of Directors to kick-off 2010
Chico State President Paul Zingg braved inclement weather and power outages to address the CEPCO Board of Directors on Thursday morning over breakfast at Mom’s Restaurant. Dr. Zingg pulled no punches as he described the difficulties facing CSU Chico campus community in 2010 and beyond, yet he was cautiously optimistic regarding the Governor’s renewed commitment to funding higher education.
President Zingg has championed an effort to reduce Chico’s responsibility to cut enrollment as mandated by the CSU Chancellor’s Office. While obligated to respect system-wide strategies, President Zingg has repeatedly pointed out that for communities in which student represent a significant portion of a population’s spending power, like Chico, the proposed 9.5 % system-wide enrollment cut would have a devastating economic effect. Zingg successfully petitioned the Chancellor’s office to lower the enrollment decrease for Chico State to 8%, which while not the decrease he had hoped for, represents an acknowledgement of the plight of smaller communities like Chico by the CSU System. The enrollment reduction means approximately 1,650 fewer Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) students at Chico State, representing an estimated $80 million loss of spending in Chico. Enrollment reductions frequently operate on a cyclical basis, and President Zingg forecasts that by Spring of 2011 the CSU system could be growing enrollment once more.
The CSU system is in a state of flux—“the promise of the Master Plan,” in the words of President Zingg, “has eroded.” While the governor has committed to funding higher education with a greater percentage of the budget than the state allots to prisons, the master plan of the university is being challenged by California’s ongoing budgetary difficulties. California’s forecast is that the state will need 40,000-60,000 more workers with a college degree every year in the near future, placing immediate emphasis on reforming the CSU system to accommodate state public and private needs. President Zingg believes that California, outside of economic recovery, needs to “recover the will” to take action. The state is currently funding two-thirds of the cost of education for a CSU student, while students cover the other one-third through student fees which have increased by 105% since 2000. The State of California’s commitment to higher education has dropped by 28% over that same period of time. President Zingg believes that in the coming years the ratio of state to student funding will be much closer to 50-50. All in all, Dr. Zingg holds that the “landscape has changed significantly” for the promise of available higher education to all qualified students in California.
As far as developments on the Chico State campus specifically, furloughs have resulted in $8 million in unspent “savings.” While no one has technically been laid off at Chico State, there have been some who have not seen their contracts renewed. President Zingg is hopeful there will be no official layoffs, but warned that changes may be rapid and forced, as “we have moved beyond the history and tradition of reliable state support.” Dr. Zingg thanked the members of the Board for their support in his efforts to minimize the impact of state-wide enrollment cuts on Chico. He also encouraged local companies to extensively explore internship opportunities with students, acknowledging that while local employers want to hire students, there is currently a surplus of well-qualified applicants in the job market. Chico State takes its role as a comprehensive university very seriously. President Zingg believes this makes Chico a vital piece of California’s need to combat an “erosion of hope,” which could overwhelm future students. Chico State strives to create the trained workforce as well as the engaged citizenry California needs to “not just recover, but to prosper.”
CEPCO's 25th Anniversary a Success
CEPCO held its annual dinner on Thursday, October 29th. We're pleased to announce our award winners:
Lifetime Achievement Award: Emmett Skinner
Sponsored by Grancell, Lebovits, Stander, Reubens and Thomas
Community Service Award: Rebuild Concow Project
Sponsored by Conroy Construction and Modern Building
Job Creation Award: Jeff Collins, Cascade Orthopedic Supply
Sponsored by Recology
Excellence in Agri-Business: Lundberg Family Farms
Sponsored by Chico Electric
Excellence in Technology and Inovation: Improvement Direct
Sponsored by Stewart, Humphrey's, Burchett, and Molin LLP.
Excellence in Sustainability: Dr. Scott McNall
Sponsored by PG&E
Entrepreneur of the Year: John Strisower
Sponsored by the Law Offices of Aaron J. Stewart
Excellence in Art and Entertainment: Sierra Oro Farm Trail
Sponsored by the Mechoopda Tribe
Excellence in Healthcare: Blood Source
Sponsored by Enloe Medical Center
Excellence in Education: Moaty Fayek, Curt DeBerg, and James O'Bannon
Sponsored by the California Faculty Association
GLOBIE Awards - Businesses to Watch: Photometics, A Main Hobbies, Pro Pacific Fresh, and Moby Wrap
Sponsored by Golden Capital Network and Wavepoint Ventures
The Chairman's Award: Julia Sabin, Smucker Quality Beverage
Sponsored by CEPCO
Thank You all for making our event a success!
Photos from the 2009 CEPCO Excellence in Business awards can be found by clicking here
Talent Mobilization Approval
The CEPCO Talent Mobilization Strategy was finalized on June 4 at the CEPCO Board meeting. The final document can be found by clicking here . Questions can be e-mailed to bob@wemanage.org.
Keep up with Enloe's Century Project
Big things are happening at Enloe Medical Center's Esplanade campus and the organization has a Web site devoted to keeping the public up to date with the planned expansion. The Century Project
consists of a five-story patient tower; a single-story surgery center and emergency center; a parking structure and a park.
Enloe has multiple pages designed to keep the public up to date with the progress of the Century Project, plus slideshows on the Enloe site. Links include: Construction progress (click here ), frequently asked questions (click here) and neighborhood updates (click here).
Stay tuned to cepco.com and enloe.org to keep up with this exciting expansion for Chico's major healthcare provider.
What is Chico Economic Planning Corporation (CEPCO)?
CEPCO is a privately funded organization incorporated July 1, 1985, and is comprised of local business people working together to ensure Chico’s economic strength and vitality.
CEPCO’s Mission and Goals
The primary goal of CEPCO is to create new jobs and new wealth for the Chico community by aiding in the retention and expansion of existing businesses, providing local residents employment, and attracting new businesses to the area.
We believe that economic development is one of our most important community services, and a crucial function that provides the kind of boost that keeps our economy strong and allows us to maintain a high quality of life.
CEPCO works with other visionary business and community leaders, including the City of Chico, Greater Chico Chamber of Commerce, Butte Community College, CSU, Chico, Tri-County Economic Development Corporation, and Butte County Economic Development Corporation, to accomplish these goals.
See the mission statements for some of our programs and task forces, listed below:
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