FOR RELEASE: November 16, 1999

JOLENE KOESTER NAMED PRESIDENT OF CSU NORTHRIDGE

EDITORS NOTE: Jolene Koester's photo and bio are available at the Website www.calstate.edu/tier2/News.shtml

The California State University Board of Trustees today (Nov. 16) appointed Jolene Koester, provost and vice president for academic affairs and professor of communication studies at CSU Sacramento, as president of CSU Northridge. Koester will formally assume the presidency on July 1, 2000.

"Jolene Koester is an outstanding educational leader. She is very well respected at CSU Sacramento, has a great deal of insight into how the CSU system operates, and has a clear understanding of the CSU mission," said CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed. "CSU Sacramento's loss is certainly CSU Northridge's gain."

Koester, 51, has served in her present position since 1993. Prior to that she served in other executive positions in the academic affairs division at CSU Sacramento. She has been a faculty member since 1983. She earned a B.A. from the University of Minnesota, an M.A. in communication arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Ph.D. in speech communication from Minnesota.

Author of several academic books and articles on intercultural and interpersonal communication, the Fulbright Scholar has served on systemwide committees on Cornerstones (the systemwide strategic plan), budget and accountability, and teacher preparation. The Minnesota native chaired CSU Sacramento's NCAA accreditation study and was president of the Western States Communication Association.

"I am very excited about the many opportunities at CSUN. It's an outstanding CSU campus with excellent faculty, students and staff. While the opportunities are plentiful, so are the challenges that lie ahead," said Koester. "I look forward to working with the entire campus and the surrounding community to ensure that CSUN offers the best possible education for students and serves the San Fernando Valley well."

CSU Trustee Laurence Gould chaired the selection committee. Altogether, about 100 candidates were involved in the selection process.

Compensation for the new president will be set at a future Board of Trustees meeting.

Koester replaces Louanne Kennedy, who has served as interim president since June and who will return to her position as provost and vice president for academic affairs at CSUN. Blenda Wilson served as CSUN president since 1992, but left the university in June to become president and chief operating officer of Nellie Mae Foundation in Braintree, Mass.

CSUN recently celebrated its 40th anniversary as the only public university located in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley, home to about 1.6 million residents. Founded in 1958, the university has grown to include the 353-acre Northridge campus with nearly 28,000 diverse students, and more than 3,000 employees. CSUN offers bachelor's and masters' degrees in more than 50 different majors. The campus also has nearly completed a $400 million recovery from the 1994 Northridge earthquake.