University Advancement

Public Relations and Strategic Communications

NEWS RELEASE

Vance T. Peterson Named Cal State Northridge’s VP for University Advancement

(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., May 14, 2007) — Cal State Northridge President Jolene Koester has announced the appointment of Vance T. Peterson as CSUN’s new vice president for university advancement, an administrator with more than 30 years experience who formerly headed the leading international advancement association in education.

Peterson—a Southern California native who also has held senior advancement positions at UCLA, USC and Occidental College—is expected to start by early July. His academic background includes a Ph.D. from Stanford University in higher education administration and policy analysis.

"We are very fortunate to have found such a distinguished and experienced candidate," Koester said. "Dr. Peterson is impressed by the quality of our institution and is committed to bringing us to a new level of excellence in our fundraising and other advancement efforts."

In his new position, Peterson will oversee the university’s current "Imagine the Arts" fundraising campaign to support the upcoming construction of a new regional performing arts center on campus. He also will serve as president of the California State University, Northridge Foundation.

"I have long been impressed with Cal State Northridge and the impact it has made on Southern California and beyond," Peterson said. "My family and I are thrilled to be returning to the Los Angeles area. I look forward to building on the solid foundation of the past and helping the university continue its upward trajectory as a vital center of intellectual, social, and cultural excellence."

Peterson currently is vice president for advancement at the Culinary Institute of America, the world’s premiere culinary college with campuses in Hyde Park, New York, and St. Helena, California. He previously served from 2000 to 2004 as president of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), the leading international association for advancement professionals in education.

Koester said Peterson brings to Northridge extensive knowledge and experience in all aspects of university advancement. Northridge’s University Advancement Division includes the departments of alumni relations, community relations, development, public relations and strategic communications, special events, and governmental affairs.

Peterson began his career from 1974 to 1977 as a tenure track assistant professor of higher education and director of the Center for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Toledo. He also currently is a visiting professor of higher education at the University of Pennsylvania, where he teaches advancement in the executive doctorate in higher education program.

Peterson’s other past positions include serving from 1996 to 2000 as president of Sierra Nevada College, Nevada’s only four-year private college; and from 1989 to 1996 as vice president of institutional advancement at Occidental College.

During the late 1970s and 1980s, he held a series of senior communications and fund-raising positions in the Los Angeles area, serving at UCLA as associate provost for development in the College of Letters and Science (1984-89), and as director of campaign operations for The UCLA Campaign (1982-84); and at USC as executive director of university relations (1980-82) and director of academic relations (1977-82).

Peterson holds an A.B. in English Literature from Occidental College and an M.S. in Government and Business Administration from The George Washington University. He is married, is a U.S. Navy and Navy Reserve veteran holding the rank of captain, and has three daughters.