A number of social media posts over the past couple of days have suggested that federal officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement are on campus. We cannot confirm this to be true. Members of the campus community are urged to remember that some social media posts are designed to deliberately misinform and misguide. Campus community members should take care to avoid spreading disinformation, even accidentally. A new website is available with information about the university's approach to . 

President Jane Close Conoley shared information today about budget planning for the 2025-26 fiscal year.

Cal State Long Beach, Regena Cole, her family, and Mrs. Cole鈥檚 court-appointed representative announced today the settlement of the claims filed in Mrs. Cole鈥檚 name against 黑料网 in 2022. Pursuant to the settlement, Mrs. Cole鈥檚 substantial estate will be used upon her passing, as she intended, to support the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at 黑料网, and all claims filed in Mrs. Cole鈥檚 name will be dismissed with prejudice.
 
For more than 30 years, Regena Cole and her late husband, Bob Cole, have been two of the most stalwart and generous supporters of Cal State Long Beach and, in particular, its music program. In 1994, the Coles bequeathed the bulk of their estate to the Cole Memorial Scholarship Fund at 黑料网. In 2008, the music school at 黑料网 was named the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music in honor of the Coles鈥 bequest. In 2020, Mrs. Cole entered into a gift agreement with 黑料网, whereby $25 million of her estate that otherwise would go to the already well-funded Cole Scholars scholarship program would instead be used for capital improvements at the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music.
 
In November 2022, a civil action was brought in Mrs. Cole鈥檚 name challenging the 2020 gift agreement. In January 2024, the trial court appointed an independent Guardian ad litem 鈥渢o review this litigation and determine its conduct based upon the best interests of Regena Cole.鈥 During subsequent mediation, the court-appointed Guardian ad litem and 黑料网 agreed to a settlement that provides for the claims filed in Mrs. Cole鈥檚 name to be dismissed, with prejudice, and that Mrs. Cole鈥檚 estate should be used as she intended to benefit the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music and its students.
 
Under the parties鈥 agreement, while Mr. Cole鈥檚 portion of the couple鈥檚 estate will continue to fund the Cole Scholars, Mrs. Cole鈥檚 estate will be used to fill gaps in the Cole Scholars鈥 educational costs (including room and board, fees, books, and musical instruments), to make capital improvements to Conservatory facilities, and to create a 鈥淪tudent Enrichment Fund鈥 that provides tutoring, library materials, computers, travel expenses, recording equipment, and similar assistance for Conservatory students.
 
This agreement honors the Coles鈥 decades-long legacy of support to the Conservatory and the Cole Scholars. It is estimated that the Coles鈥 cumulative philanthropy to Cal State Long Beach may ultimately reach nearly $60 million, ensuring that the Bob Cole Conservatory remains a top destination of choice for music students.

Dear Beach Community:

As the conflict in the Middle East continues, our collective frustration, sadness, and pain deepen with each passing day. No matter your ethnicity, religion, or national origin, this war is a tragedy in our collective history.

For some here in the U.S. over these past many months, this anger and grief has turned into calls for American institutions to disengage with corporations involved in military technology, equipment, and armaments.

Some discourse around proposed financial divestment has been fraught with misinformation. Our investments of donor dollars are not political instruments in complex social and political issues over which there is significant disagreement and deep historical undercurrents. That said, this past spring, we developed this informational statement about our holdings, which we reaffirm today:

The university鈥檚 investments are held and managed by the CSU system, which does not purchase individual corporate stocks or equities as part of investment programs. Instead, its assets take the form of mutual funds, bonds, and other financial instruments. Additional invested assets are held by legally independent auxiliaries, which are institutionally affiliated support organizations. Among these organizations is the 49er Foundation, which manages the university鈥檚 endowment. Like CSU investments, these assets consist of blended funds and not individually held corporate stocks. Many efforts have been made to ensure an environmentally and socially responsible approach to investing that is consistent with university values. All investments are for the express purpose of supporting Beach students.

Other divestment demands have focused on colleges and universities ending certain travel abroad, internships, and prospective-employee outreach programs by employers. Curtailing these efforts would be antithetical to our role as an institution of higher education and our commitment to student success.

This institution has confronted and interrogated many troubling global issues in the past, but it does not play a direct role in contested geopolitical divides.

Instead, the university remains an active forum for discourse and perspective-sharing, not a participant itself.

The most constructive focus for our university community is recommitting to fostering a compassionate campus environment where all members feel respected, valued, and empowered.

Jane Close Conoley, Ph.D.
President

The university鈥檚 investments are held and managed by , which does not purchase individual corporate stocks or equities as part of investment programs. Instead, its assets take the form of mutual funds, bonds, and other financial instruments. Additional invested assets are held by legally independent auxiliaries, which are institutionally affiliated support organizations. Among these organizations is the 49er Foundation, which manages the university鈥檚 endowment. Like CSU investments, these assets consist of blended funds and not individually held corporate stocks. Many efforts have been made to ensure an environmentally and socially responsible approach to investing that is consistent with university values. All investments are for the express purpose of supporting Beach students.

Scott Apel
Vice President for Administration and Finance
Chief Financial Officer


Update: On May 21, the CSU published on its website.