LONG BEACH Jane Close Conoley will become the first female president in the 65-year history of Cal State Long Beach.
The appointment of Conoley, who currently serves as dean of the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education at UC Santa Barbara, was announced Wednesday at the California State University Board of Trustees meeting at the Glenn S. Dumke Auditorium in the Office of the Chancellor in Long Beach.
“Cal State Long Beach is renowned for its quality, diversity and global mission, and it is an honor to be selected as the university’s next president,” Conoley said in a statement. “The excellence of its academic offerings, its storied athletic heritage and its unique location have made it one of the CSU’s most popular campuses for prospective students. This is a vibrant university that plays a key role in Southern California, and I embrace the opportunity to work with the outstanding students, faculty, staff and Long Beach community to reach even greater heights.”
The Trustees’ Selection Committee for President of CSU Long Beach conducted the search, beginning last summer. Monterey Park-based Storbeck/Pimental Associates is the firm that assisted in the search, with a budget of $120,000.
F. King Alexander left Cal State Long Beach in June to become president of the Louisiana State University system and chancellor of Louisiana State University AM.
CSU Chancellor Timothy P. White in May named Donald J. Para as interim president of Cal State Long Beach. Para had served as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Cal State Long Beach.
Conoley will become the seventh president in CSULB history when she takes the post in July.
Since 2006 she has been the dean at UCSB as well as a professor of counseling, clinical and school psychology. Before her service at UCSB, she served as dean and professor of educational psychology at Texas AM University between 1996 to 2005, and as associate dean for research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Teachers College, from 1989 to 1994, according to CSULB officials.
She also held faculty positions at Texas Woman’s University and Syracuse University.
Conoley is the author and editor of 21 books.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the College of New Rochelle and a doctorate in school psychology from the University of Texas at Austin.
“As the result of the leadership of former presidents Robert Maxson and King Alexander, CSULB is now nationally recognized for providing a high-quality, low-cost education and for making student success the central strategic goal of the campus,” Para said in a statement. “I’m confident that Dr. Conoley will continue to build upon their achievements and place student success at the top of her agenda.”
CSULB enrolls about 35,500 students annually. The university is home to eight colleges that offer 85 bachelor’s degrees, 64 master’s degrees and four doctoral degrees.