Following current Stanislaus State President Joseph F. Sheley’s retirement announcement in November, the California State University Board of Trustees will hold an open forum later this month to begin the search for his successor.
“This open forum is designed to collect information from the community that will shape the committee’s search criteria,” said Laurie Weidner, CSU Assistant Vice Chancellor Public Affairs. “It is really important that we have a good representation of the campus community and community-at-large because they are going to shape the qualities and backgrounds the committee will look for in the national search.”
Sheley, who will retire on July 1, was appointed by the CSU Board of Trustees as the campus’ interim president in June 2012 before assuming his position as president in May of the following year. During his tenure, Sheley worked to build strong community ties between Stanislaus State and the community. The university has also gained national recognition as one of America’s best universities in advancing its graduates’ economic mobility and life outcomes.
Money Magazine ranked Stanislaus State as the number one public university in the nation for helping students exceed expectations, and a study commissioned by the National Public Radio placed the university as fifth in the nation in providing upward mobility. In this ranking, Stanislaus State was only preceded by Harvard, MIT, Stanford and University of California, Irvine.
“The CSU is indebted to Joe Sheley for his two decades of leadership, the last four as president of CSU Stanislaus,” said CSU Chancellor Timothy P. White in November. “President Sheley elevated the profile of the university and established CSU Stanislaus as an integral force with the region, stimulating economic development and bolstering college attendance and completion rates.
The open forum later this month will review the role of the committee, receive comments and input from the public and campus community, discuss preferred attributes of the next president, review the descriptions and needs of the campus and presidential position, and discuss any other business related to the search process.
Trustee Hugo N. Morales will chair the Trustee’s Committee for the Selection of the President. Other trustee members include Silas H. Abrego, Ph.D., Steven G. Stepanek, Ph.D., and Student Trustee Maggie K. White, as well as Board Chair Lou Monville and CSU Chancellor Timothy P. White.
Board policy calls for the chair to appoint an Advisory Committee to the Trustee’s Committee. Members of the Advisory Committee for the Selection of the President include faculty members, advisory board representatives, alumni and staff representatives, and community members among others.
The Trustee’s Committee for the Selection of the President and the Advisory Committee will function as a unified committee. Over the next several months, the Advisory Committee will review applications and conduct interviews with a goal of appointing a new president before the next academic year.
The first meeting of the Trustee’s Committee for the Selection of the President will be held in an open forum from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Feb. 17 in Snider Recital Hall, Building 6A on the Stanislaus State campus. Members of the campus community, community-at-large, and media are invited to attend. Free parking will be made available in Lot 3 off of Crowell Road.
Additional information is available at csustan.edu/presidential-search. The general public may call 667-3122 for more information. Details about the CSU presidential search process are available at calstate.edu/datastore/presidentialsearch.shtml. Members of the campus and community-at-large, who are unable to attend the open forum, may view a live web stream at calstate.edu/livestream/ or may also email their suggestions to presidentsearch@calstate.edu.
“We want to make sure the community is well represented because they are important in shaping the committee’s path moving forward,” said Weidner.
