University Advancement

Public Relations and Strategic Communications

NEWS RELEASE

CSUN President Jolene Koester Named to Mayor’s Committee on Jobs

(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., Oct. 19, 2006) -- Cal State Northridge President Jolene Koester has been asked by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to sit on a committee to explore ways of enhancing the city’s job and economic climate.

The mayor’s office said the Committee for Jobs and the Economy will identify what is now being done to promote economic growth in Los Angeles, determine what is working and not working here and in other cities, generate action-oriented recommendations for the mayor’s review, and work with the mayor to implement those recommendations.

’It’s an honor to be asked by Mayor Villaraigosa to serve on this committee," Koester said. "The idea that we can make a positive impact on the city’s job outlook and the economy will benefit the lives of the residents of Los Angeles and the students of Cal State Northridge."

The committee’s chairman is Russell Goldsmith, chief executive officer of City National Bank. Bud Ovrum, deputy mayor of housing and economic development, and his staff have been charged with working with the committee to fulfill its charter.

The 31 members of the committee include such prominent business leaders as Earvin "Magic" Johnson, chief executive of Magic Johnson Enterprises; John Cushman, chairman of the real estate company Cushman & Wakefield Inc.; Peter Chernin, chief operating officer of News Corp.; Steve Sample, president of the University of Southern California; Bruce Karatz, chairman and chief executive of KB Homes; and Howard Marks, founder and chairman of Oaktree Capital Management LLC.

California State University, Northridge has 34,000 full- and part-time students and offers 62 bachelor’s and 50 master’s degrees as well as 28 teaching credential programs. Founded in 1958, CSUN is among the largest single-campus universities in the nation and the only four-year public university in the San Fernando Valley. The university serves as the intellectual, economic and cultural heart of the Valley and beyond.