Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi visits SFSU to discuss enrollment growth, academic innovation and student success

Pelosi met with University leaders and toured the new science and engineering building and student housing facilities

San Francisco State University welcomed Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi to campus Aug. 28 for a conversation with University leaders about SFSU’s enrollment growth, academic innovation and commitment to preparing students for successful careers.

Pelosi, who has represented San Francisco in Congress for nearly four decades and served twice as speaker of the House, met with SFSU President Lynn Mahoney, Vice President of Student Affairs Jamillah Moore and Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Amy Sueyoshi. The visit also included a tour of some of the University’s newest facilities.

“San Francisco State University has long been an extraordinary engine of opportunity for our city and our region,” Speaker Emerita Pelosi said. “Today, I had the pleasure of touring a university committed to investing in the next generation. Supporting San Francisco State and its students has been a great privilege, and I look forward to all that this remarkable institution will continue to accomplish.”

During the roundtable discussion, Mahoney shared the University’s latest enrollment numbers, noting that SFSU’s incoming class increased for the first time in more than a decade. She also discussed the importance of San Francisco to SFSU’s identity and student experience, noting that the city’s renewed vitality and the opportunities it provides are among the reasons students choose to become Gators.

“Speaker Emerita Pelosi has been an extraordinary champion for San Francisco, and her support has made a lasting difference for San Francisco State University and the students we serve,” Mahoney said. “Her visit gave us an opportunity to share the momentum we are seeing across the University, from enrollment growth to new academic programs and facilities. And, most importantly, to talk about how we are preparing our students to build meaningful lives and careers here in the Bay Area and beyond.”

Following the discussion, College of Science and Engineering Dean Carmen Domingo led Pelosi on a tour of the new Science and Engineering Innovation Center. Funded through state support and private philanthropy, the facility provides modern teaching, laboratory and research spaces for SFSU students and faculty.

Domingo showed Pelosi one of the center’s new Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry laboratories and discussed changes in the way SFSU teaches chemistry to strengthen student learning and retention. Pelosi also met with two graduate students studying biochemistry.

The tour continued in the engineering structures and seismic laboratory, where Pelosi watched a demonstration of equipment used by students and researchers to study how structures respond to earthquakes and other forces.

Pelosi concluded her visit with a walk through West Grove Commons, SFSU’s newest residential community. The development is part of the University’s ongoing effort to provide students with affordable housing and create a more vibrant living and learning environment on campus.