COLLEGES: June 2010 Archives

(Photo courtesy of Cal State Los Angeles)

Alexandria Huynh - at 17 the youngest graduating senior ever in the class of 2010 at California State University, Los Angeles - is heading to Harvard University this fall to pursue a doctorate in immunology.

Admitted to Harvard Medical School with full funding and an additional stipend, the Torrance girl also was accepted to doctoral programs at Yale University and the University of Pennsylvania.

Huynh was a member of the Golden Key Honor Society and the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society at Cal State L.A. Recipient of the Kinecta Federal Credit Union Scholarship, she was recently named the winner of Cal State L.A.'s Phi Kappa Phi Outstanding Senior Award and presented the Early Entrance Program Graduate of the Year scholarship. In addition, she has volunteered at Torrance Memorial Medical Center. When time allows, she also enjoys figure skating and playing the piano.

Huynh was admitted to Cal State L.A. at the age of 13.

According to officials from Cal State L.A., the university's youngest graduate ever is Cynthia Martel, who graduated with bachelor's degrees in biology and biochemistry at the age of 14 in 1990.

CSU trustees will meet in Long Beach next Friday to discuss raising student fees an additional 10 percent.

From the Associated Press:

California State University is proposing another round of student fee increases this fall as the 23-campus system grapples with deep cuts in state funding, officials said Wednesday.

CSU Board of Trustees will hold a special meeting in Long Beach on June 18 to vote on raising fees by 5 percent for undergraduate, graduate and teacher credential students, and 10 percent for education doctorate students.

Under the proposal, fees would increase $204 to $4,230 a year for resident undergraduates, go up $234 to $4,908 for teacher credential students and increase $252 to $5,214 for graduate students, said CSU spokesman Michael Uhlenkamp.

The board also will vote on eliminating the cap on nonresident tuition, so out-of-state students would pay about $16,000 for a full course load of 30 units, up from $11,160 now, he said.

"We're facing an unprecedented budget crisis," Uhlenkamp said, adding that the board could revisit the fee issue in November if the CSU system does not receive as much state funding university officials anticipate.

Still, the proposed 5 percent fee increase is less than the 10 percent hike that many had expected, said Miles Nevin, executive director of the California State Student Association.

"I think this is palatable for our students," he said. "I think it's reasonable considering the climate."

As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state Legislature seek to close a $20 billion state budget deficit, CSU students are encouraged that the governor and the Assembly have both proposed restoring $366 million in funding to the CSU system, Nevin said.

Over the past two years, the CSU and 10-campus University of California systems have reduced enrollment, furloughed faculty and cut course sections in response to steep reductions in state funding. Both systems have raised undergraduate fees by more than 30 percent over the past year.