Sue Borrego, the former interim president of California State University, Stanislaus, was sworn in Monday as deputy city manager.

Borrego officially was hired on Jan. 6, filling a position that had been vacant since the retirement of longtime city employee Sarah Eddy in December.

A native of Detroit, Borrego took over at Stanislau in August 2023 after the departure of Ellen Junn. She remained in that post for nearly a year.

“I don’t have experience working in municipal government, but I have worked at regional comprehensive universities,” said Borrego. “And the role of a regional comprehensive university is to be a partner in, and with, the community. I’ve done significant work with community entities. I was in Flint (Mich.) when the water crisis broke.”

Borrego was the chancellor of the University of Michigan-Flint when it was discovered in 2014 that the city’s water supply was polluted — a situation that plagues that city to this day.

“That called for whole different set of skills,” said Borrego. “Working with doctors, educators, and local and state politicians.”

In addition to her stints at CSUS and UM-Flint, Borrego’s previous roles include vice president for enrollment management, planning and student affairs at Cal State Dominguez Hills, VP of student affairs at Cal State Monterey Bay, and associate vice chancellor for student affairs at the University of Arkansas. She also held several administrative roles at the California Institute of Technology.

After stepping down as CSUS president, Borrego planned to return to live with her family in Claremont, where they own a home.

“We’ve been hosting (wildfire) evacuees in our house in Southern California,” said Borrego, who will earn just over $200,000 in base salary for her duties as deputy to City Manager Reagan Wilson. “Everything worked out a little differently than anybody imagined, and it took a little longer to get going.”

Borrego was presented with a key to the city from Mayor Amy Bublak during the mayor’s State of the City address in August, and spoke glowingly about her time in Turlock.

“Coming to Turlock was one of the easiest things ever,” Borrego said. “I grew up in the Midwest and Turlock felt a lot like the Midwest to me. You weren’t a stranger to anyone.”

Borrego earned a bachelor's degree in speech and communication from Northwest Nazarene College, a master's degree in social science at Azusa Pacific, and a doctorate in education from Claremont Graduate School.