Always Ready

Cal State East Bay and the U.S. Coast Guard announced a new program on Friday called the College Student Pre-Commissioning Initiative, which will provide students with scholarship and research opportunities, while also increasing the diversity of the agency’s military officers. 

During a ceremony at the university’s Hayward campus, President Leroy M. Morishita signed a memorandum of agreement with Vice Admiral Linda L. Fagan, Coast Guard Pacific Area commander. 

Cal State East Bay is now the third school in California to partner with the Coast Guard for the initiative.

Students accepted into the program will receive up to two years of tuition, living expenses and a salary while attending school and are guaranteed commission with the U.S. Coast Guard following graduation.

As part of the agreement, Cal State East Bay faculty will also have increased opportunities to work with the Coast Guard on projects of shared interest and wider scope such as marine biology and environmental science.

“Cal State East Bay is proud to join the U.S. Coast Guard’s College Student Pre-Commissioning Initiative,” Morishita said. “Our students will receive significant resources and real-world training, and our faculty can expand their research as a result of this agreement. We look forward to a collaboration that will have [a] lasting impact for the university.”

The initiative began as an effort to increase the participation of historically black colleges and universities in federally-sponsored programs and has expanded to all designated minority-serving institutions.

“To meet the future needs of the nation, our Coast Guard workforce must be representative of the American public we serve,” Fagan said. “Diversity is a top priority for the service, and we are excited about our partnership with Cal State East Bay and the shared opportunities the CSPI program will create.”