After an almost five-month search and interview process, it seems as if the California State University (CSU) has made its decision as to who will be the next president of Stanislaus State in Turlock.
On Wednesday morning, the CSU Board of Trustees are expected to appoint the next president of Stanislaus State, as well as approve their compensation.
The anticipated decision will take place at the Dumke Auditorium in Long Beach. Due to seating capacity at the venue, members of the public are encouraged to observe the meeting via livestream at www.calstate.edu/csu-system/board-of-trustees and offer any public comments through the available remote option.
The search for the next Stan State president officially began on Nov. 1 with an open forum on the Stanislaus State campus. University stakeholders shared their preferred attributes for the school’s next leader with the California State University’s Presidential Search Committee, which is appointed by the chair of the CSU Trustees per board policy. It is composed of representatives from the faculty, staff, students and alumni, as well as a member of a campus advisory board. They 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.
CSU Trustee Yammilette Rodriguez has served as committee chair throughout the search. Other trustee members include Jose Antonio Vargas, Darlene Yee-Melichar, Trustee Chair Wenda Fong and CSU Chancellor Mildred García. Members of the Advisory Committee include faculty representatives Dr. Daniel Soodjinda and Dr. Ann Strahm, Stan State Academic Senate speaker Dr. Marcy R. Chvasta, staff representative Dawn McCulley, student representatives Anahi Lopez and Adrian Sanchez, alumni representative Adrian S. Harrell, campus advisory board representative Christine Schweininger, senior associate vice president for Communications, Marketing and Media Relations Dr. Rosalee Rush as an administration representative, community representatives John Jacinto and Jeffrey Lewis, and San Marcos State President Dr. Ellen J. Neufeldt.
Dr. Susan E. Borrego currently serves as Stan State’s interim president following the retirement of Dr. Ellen Junn in August. It is unclear if Borrego is in the running for the full-time job due to the CSU’s confidentiality policy.
“Because of the unique nature of this position, both candidates and the Trustees expect to conduct the search in a confidential manner,” García said at the Nov. 1 forum. “We will have the lives and futures of the candidates in our hands in this search. We owe the candidates a professional courtesy of confidentiality. Many of the very best candidates may not even consider engaging in a search with a non-confidential process. We all agree that we need to seek the very best next president, thus we need a deep, strong and diverse pool from which to select…”
The appointed president will be the 12th president in the institution’s 67-year history. The previous 11 were Junn (2016-2023), Joseph F. Sheley (2012-2016), Hamid Shirvani (2005-2012), Marvalene Hughes (1994-2005), Lee Kerschner (1992-1994), John Moore (1985-1992), Walter Olson (1975-1985), Carl Gatlin (1969-1975), Alexander Capurso (1963-1969), Gerard Crowley (1962-1963) and founding president J. Burton Vasche (1960-1962).
