August 25, 1997
Contact: Carmen Ramos Chandler,
(818) 677-2130
cchandler@exec.csun.edu
Wilson was one of five finalists for the presidency of Wayne State.
"The possibility of serving Wayne State was a special and extraordinary opportunity because of my previous experience in the city of Detroit and the only one which could have attracted me away from Cal State Northridge," Wilson said.
She served as chancellor of the University of Michigan at Dearborn, a Detroit suburb, from 1988 to 1992 and her husband, Dr. Louis Fair, managed the Detroit City Airport.
"My special interest is in urban institutions that serve people for whom higher education provides the greatest added value," said Wilson. "Cal State Northridge does that, and Wayne State is in a similar position. Both institutions are absolutely crucial to the economic, cultural and social well-being of their regions.
"CSUN touches the lives of virtually every person in this area. There is not a major business or public agency in the region that does not depend on CSUN graduates as its managers, executives and employees; the university's dozens of public service programs, invisible to many, serve tens of thousands," she said.
"I continue to have a determined commitment to the students and the institution and to the very large and diverse community of people we serve," Wilson said.
"Cal State Northridge has an exciting strategic vision and the leadership, within the faculty and administrative officers, to achieve that vision. I am so pleased that I will be able to continue to help advance our mission and complete some of the important initiatives we have started together."
"I do not foresee any other opportunity in higher education that would interest me; I am committed to staying at Cal State Northridge."
"CSUN has a pressing agenda of critical priorities for this year and I intend to give that agenda my full attention and energy," she said. Wilson said those priorities include:
"Blenda Wilson has been a consistent leader among the CSU presidents since the first day she arrived. She is one of the brightest, most articulate and polished people I know, and Cal State Northridge has benefited from her unique combination of academic and administrative talents," Fallgatter said.
"Her staying will give the university a steady, knowing hand, especially as the campus continues to recover from the earthquake. The Board of Trustees is pleased that Blenda's dedication and energy will be focused in California."
CSU chancellor Barry Munitz was also happy.
"Wayne State's loss is CSU's gain," said Munitz. "Among the CSU presidents, Blenda is someone in whom I place complete confidence in her ability and judgment. We are incredibly fortunate to have her."
In the community, Yvonne Chan, principal of the Vaughn Learning Center in Pacoima, said, "Good, I expect her to be head for opening day of our new professional development center on Valentine's Day."
Former California State Assembly Democratic leader Richard Katz was pleased that Wilson was staying.
"Thank God. The Valley and Cal State Northridge students are the real winners. She exemplifies the very best in people and she's done an incredible job at CSUN."
Former CSUN student body president Steve Parker, now an aide to Los Angeles mayor Richard Riordan, said "I'm glad she's staying. CSUN has done a complete 180 degree transformation since her arrival and we will continue to benefit from her visionary leadership."
Riordan himself called Wilson "one of the nation's premier university presidents."
In the aftermath of the 1994 earthquake and after Wilson led the campus through a series of controversies, Wilson was selected to receive a plethora of leadership and humanitarian service awards.
Wilson received national recognition for her determined and articulate leadership after the Northridge Earthquake struck the campus and region in January of 1994. It was the greatest natural disaster to ever strike an American university. Virtually all of the university's buildings required repair or complete reconstruction.
Wilson said "the real credit for CSUN's continuing recovery from the earthquake belongs to the 3,000 faculty and staff. I continue to admire their resiliency and their dedication; they were people on the front lines, in the classrooms, in trailers, in makeshift quarters."
She currently serves on the boards of directors of the J. Paul Getty Trust, the James Irvine Foundation, the Commonwealth Fund, the Center Theater Group of Los Angeles, Union Bank of California, among others, and she is active in several local and national educational, philanthropic and professional organizations.
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