Economic Impact

Dear Friend,

Since its founding in 1958, California State University, Northridge (CSUN) has made a significant and long-term economic impact on the region and the State of California that you will see clearly reflected in this report. With CSUN’s nearly $1.9 billion economic impact and creation of more than 11,700 jobs, the data and activities underscore our mission to serve and benefit the community and region. In addition, we have an unparalleled elevating effect on the social mobility of our students. According to the Social Mobility Index, CSUN students go on to graduate at higher rates and earn more as alumni than peer institutions, emphasizing the university’s commitment to graduate students who are prepared for today’s evolving economy and work environment.

We are confident that our ambitious goals and focus on excellence will enable us to widen our positive influence in the years ahead, particularly as CSUN’s faculty, students, staff, and administrative leaders work to expand our engagement with economic and community development. Through our participation on the boards of leading economic development organizations like the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation, Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator’s (LACI) Leadership Council, L.A. Coalition for the Economy and Jobs, the Valley Industry and Commerce Association, and the Valley Economic Alliance, the university is linking the innovative work of its faculty and students to the positive and equitable evolution of the diverse urban community of greater Los Angeles.

A key component of CSUN’s strength is its place as a hub of innovation. Examples of such efforts include LACI@CSUN, a business incubator and satellite of the L.A. Cleantech Incubator that encourages innovation and entrepreneurship, which will lead to a growing number of lucrative jobs in new industries in the region. (LACI was recently named by UBI Global as one of the best university-associated business incubators in the world.) From cutting-edge cancer research to internationally recognized studies on climate change and coral reefs, the work being done in the classrooms and laboratories at CSUN has never been more advanced and meaningful. The National Science Foundation ranks CSUN in the top five nationally among similar institutions for graduates who go on to earn doctorates in the sciences, and the National Institutes of Health recently awarded CSUN nearly $22 million to enhance the diversity of the country’s biomedical workforce.

You will see in this report that CSUN is an exceptional and forward-looking university. Our faculty and students are given the opportunity to achieve more than they imagined possible — to rise higher than their own dreams and aspirations. Put simply, CSUN is where individuals rise. And through them, so does Greater Los Angeles and our shared world.

Dianne F. Harrison, Ph.D.

President