Evans, who has more than 20 years of experience in academia including 15 years as a dean, will assume his new duties Aug. 20.

"Fred Evans is an experienced and valued member of the CSU community, and we are fortunate that he can bring his knowledge and experience to CSUN," said Louanne Kennedy, provost and vice president for academic affairs. "He is enthusiastic about working with the faculty, students, staff and alumni of our College of Business and Economics as well as the local business community."

Evans will serve as interim dean of the college until the university conducts a nationwide search for a permanent replacement for Michael Fronmueller, who stepped down as dean earlier this year. The search is expected to take place during the academic year 2005-2006.

Northridge's College of Business and Economics has about 6,200 students and includes the departments of accounting and information systems, business law, economics, finance, real estate and insurance, management, management science and marketing.

Evans said he was looking forward to joining the Cal State Northridge community.

"I think the College of Business and Economics is a very high quality business program," Evans said. "I look forward to leading the college into the future and to heights of achievement. Everyone I've met at the college so far has been so nice and so committed to the college's success and I am really looking forward to working with everyone."

While dean of the Craig School, Evans initiated a strategic planning process that led to consensus around the school's vision and mission. He also led the development of courses and emphases in entrepreneurship at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, established the school's Digital Economy Center and spearheaded a fundraising effort that added nearly $10 million to the school's endowment, including four $100,000 scholarship endowments.

Prior to becoming dean of the Craig School, Evans was dean of the College of Business Administration at Eastern Washington University from 1988-1994. Evans served as associate dean for the School of Business and Economics at Cal State Los Angeles for seven years. He has also been a faculty member and a department chair.

Evans earned his Ph.D. in political science at the University of Washington. Among his areas of specialization is the relationship between business and the media. He is the author of Managing the Media: A Guide to Better Business-Press Relations and many other publications.

He is currently conducting research on leadership and management in the information age, with an emphasis on the role of ethics in effective leadership.