A reunion broke out as City Hall hosted “Cal State LA Day at City Hall” on Friday, August 22.
Capri Maddox, executive director of the City of Los Angeles’ Civil and Human Rights and Equity Department, asked if there were any other Cal State LA alumni among the City Hall employees gathered in the outdoor space adjacent to the City Hall rotunda to celebrate their university.
One hand after another shot up into the air to a round of cheers and applause.
The show of hands underscored the impact Cal State LA has had on Los Angeles on a day when the university and the city affirmed their strong bond, common goals, and commitment to collaboration.
The highlight of the event, which was affiliated with the combined University Convocation and Investiture of President Berenecea Johnson Eanes as the university’s ninth president from earlier in the week, was the acknowledgment of Cal State LA’s contributions to the greater community during the City Council meeting at the John Ferraro Council Chamber.
“Cal State LA has been recognized as the No. 1 university in the nation for social mobility,” said Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, who represents the university in District 14. “With more than 22,000 students, this is particularly important because from what we know and what we’ve seen, the American dream is not a promise—it’s earned. In Cal State LA, real lives are changed, real families are empowered, and real communities are transformed.”
During the meeting, the City Council also presented a resolution honoring President Eanes, recognizing her as the university’s ninth president and the first woman to lead Cal State LA since its founding in 1947.
Surrounded by students, alumni, faculty, and staff, President Eanes provided some statistic that supported Jurado’s statement: Los Angeles is home to 8,000 current Cal State LA students, 700 faculty and staff, and more than 115,000 alumni.
“Those alumni are teaching in schools, leading nonprofits, serving in city government, building businesses, and shaping the future of Los Angeles,” Eanes proudly stated.
“During the Investiture and Convocation,” Eanes continued, “I spoke about what I call ‘stewardship of place.’ This idea is at the heart of our gathering today. Cal State LA does not just occupy a campus on the hilltop; we are part of neighborhoods in the city and civic life of Los Angeles. Our partnerships, clinics, and classrooms—from neighborhoods to nonprofits to City Hall itself—must be reciprocal and resistant, lifting the entire community. Stewardship of place means we don’t just serve Los Angeles—we belong. When our students succeed, our communities rise with them. That is a bond that we celebrate today.”
The event was the last of three celebrations during the first week of the new school year.
On Friday, the event began with an 8 a.m. breakfast and a meet-and-greet between the university community and civic leaders in the outdoor space. It was there Maddox searched out her fellow Cal State LA alumni.
Jacqueline Vernon Wagner was one of the City Hall employees who raised her hand.
A manager with the Office of the City Administrative Officer credits her well-rounded experience at Cal State LA for helping her rise through the ranks at City Hall, where she began as a clerk typist in the 1980s. She said that many of her best friends today were her fellow students at the university.
“The education meant everything to me,” said Wagner, an accounting major. “I took accounting, economics, Spanish, anthropology. I was also involved in sports. I tried out for the track team, and I had friends who played volleyball and basketball. It was a full-on community. It turned out to be the underpinnings of my career.”
Wagner was still attending Cal State LA when she began her professional career as an accounts receivable clerk and then case manager with Sears Commercial Credit. When the company moved its headquarters out of state, she moved on to City Hall.
Maddox proudly calls herself a “double alum” of Cal State LA, having earned a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and a Master of Public Administration.
Following the completion of her master’s degree, Maddox secured a temporary assignment at City Hall.
“I was only supposed to work for the City of Los Angeles part time, making $9.08 an hour for six months,” she said. “That was in 1992. Yeah, it’s been a long six months.”
Maddox said she was retained through appointments by three mayors, an elected city attorney, and a superintendent in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
“But before those people saw my potential and promise, Cal State LA did,” Maddox said. “The university lifted me, it took me in, and it was creative in supporting me. I will never forget it.”
Maddox experienced housing insecurity growing up, but avoided foster care with the support of five different families that took her in. She attended 13 different schools before ninth grade.
She said she sees herself in many of today’s Cal State LA students—determined to flourish while uplifting loved ones whose sacrifices made success possible. Maddox is also excited about the university’s direction.
“I honor the leadership of Berenecea Johnson Eanes,” she said. “She is a force, an inequity-buster, particularly for marginalized students, the sons and daughters of our lawn mowers, our gardeners, our cooks, the people who put food on our tables. She is creating a better, more equitable, and just Los Angeles. As the head of the LA civil rights department, I could not be more proud of her leadership. We are here to support President Eanes because ‘We Are LA.’”
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California State University, Los Angeles is the premier comprehensive public university in the heart of Los Angeles. Cal State LA is ranked number one in the United States for the upward mobility of its students. Cal State LA is dedicated to engagement, service, and the public good, offering nationally recognized programs in science, the arts, business, criminal justice, engineering, nursing, education, and the humanities. Founded in 1947, the University serves more than 24,000 students and has more than 250,000 distinguished alumni.
