Glavin will take over from interim director, Lt. Alfredo Fernandez on Wed., July 31.

While at MIT, Glavin served as president of the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives and as a commissioner of the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Program.

Glavin began her law enforcement career in 1975 as a police officer at MIT and served as chief of police from 1987 to 2001 and then director of public safety for the past year.

At Northridge, Glavin will oversee a public safety department that includes police, parking, and transportation services and the student-staffed Community Service Officer Program.

California State University, Northridge has more than 30,000 full- and part-time students and offers 59 bachelor's and 41 master's degrees. Founded in 1958, it is the only four-year university in the San Fernando Valley and the third largest in the 23-campus CSU system. The Western Association of Schools and Colleges recently said CSUN "stands as a model to other public urban institutions of higher education."