Press Release Leadership

California State University, Fresno Presidential Search Committee to Hold Virtual Open Forum

 

 

 

​​The California State University (CSU) Board of Trustees is beginning the search for a new president of California State University, Fresno to succeed Joseph I. Castro, Ph.D., who became CSU Chancellor in January 2021.

The first meeting of the Trustees' Committee for the Selection of the President will be held in a virtual open forum from noon to 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 9. During this time, the committee will outline the search process and the community will be invited to share their preferred attributes of the next president of Fresno State. Please note that community members wishing to address the committee are required to register in advance, and the deadline to register is Friday, February 5 at 5 p.m. Confirmed registrants will receive details about how to participate.

CSU Trustee Jane Carney will chair the committee. The other trustee members include Diego Arambula, Wenda Fong and Krystal Raynes, as well as Trustee Chair Lillian Kimbell and CSU Chancellor Joseph I. Castro.

The virtual open forum will be web-streamed live and archived on the President Search website, where individuals may also provide their input via written submission.

Board policy requires the chair of the CSU trustees to appoint an Advisory Committee to the Trustees' Committee. The Advisory Committee is composed of representatives from the faculty, staff, students and alumni, as well as a member of a campus advisory board, all of whom are selected by the campus's constituency groups. Also on the Advisory Committee is a vice president or academic dean from the campus, and a president of another CSU campus—both selected by the chancellor. Both committees function as one unified group.

Members of the Advisory Committee for the Selection of the President include:

  • Fresno State faculty members Joy J. Goto, Ph.D., professor, chair, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Jenelle S. Pitt, Ph.D., professor, chair, Department of Counselor Education and Rehabilitation
  • Thomas Holyoke, Ph.D., chair, Academic Senate
  • Georgianna Negron-Long, chair, joint labor council (staff representative)
  • Elizabeth Rocha Zuñiga, president, Fresno State Associated Students, Inc. (student representative)
  • Jacqueline Campos Ledezma (student representative)
  • Edgar Blunt (alumni representative)
  • Nicole Linder (campus advisory board representative)
  • Paula Castadio, vice president for University Advancement (administration representative)
  • Carol Chandler and Clint Williams (community representatives)
  • Robert S. Nelsen, Ph.D., president, California State University, Sacramento

Over the next several months, the committee will review candidates and conduct interviews.

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About the California State University
The California State University is the largest system of four-year higher education in the country, with 23 campuses, 53,000 faculty and staff and 486,000 students. Half of the CSU's students transfer from California community colleges. Created in 1960, the mission of the CSU is to provide high-quality, affordable education to meet the ever-changing needs of California. With its commitment to quality, opportunity, and student success, the CSU is renowned for superb teaching, innovative research and for producing job-ready graduates. Each year, the CSU awards nearly 129,000 degrees. One in every 20 Americans holding a college degree is a graduate of the CSU and our alumni are 3.8 million strong. Connect with and learn more about the CSU in the CSU NewsCenter.