FOR RELEASE:
July 27, 1999

CSUN Appoints Wood, Hackett to
Key Fund-Raising Positions

Murray Wood has been named new associate vice president of development, and Suzanne F. Hackett, acting director of campaigns.

"I am very pleased that we were able to find someone with Murray's level and depth of experience, and with Suzanne's expertise in raising money for a building campaign," Outhouse said. "Both of these people will be a strong asset to the university and help take the development program to the next level."

Wood joins the university after spending more than three years as the southwest regional director of American Associates of Ben-Gurion University in Israel. Prior to that, he was vice president for fund development for the Jewish Home for the Aging and Southern Pacific regional director and national educational director for the Washington D.C.-based American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

"I am enormously impressed with the potential of this university," Wood said. "I see one of my major roles as helping communicate CSUN's potential and sphere of influence throughout the Southern California area. We are building a modern, new university, and one that some of us will not recognize 10 years from now. It is really exciting for me to be a part of fulfilling this vision and the transformation of the university after the 1994 earthquake."

Wood has a master's degree in social service from Bryn Mawr College and a bachelor's degree in English Education from La Salle University in Philadelphia, Pa.

Outhouse said the director of campaigns position was created because the university has two major buildings about to start construction ‹ the new Health and Human Development and the Arts, Media, and Communication buildings.

Although the Federal Emergency Management Agency is paying for these buildings' construction as part of the university's recovery from the 1994 earthquake, it is not providing funds for the furniture and equipment they will need.

"Because the timing is so critical, I decided to create a position to focus primarily on furnishing the building," Outhouse said. "However, the director of campaigns also will assist the other colleges and development directors with proposals and grants."

Hackett, a Northridge alum, comes to the university from the San Fernando Valley Cultural Center, where she served as its executive director. Prior to that, she was vice president for institutional advancement and director of development at Los Angeles' California Science Center and California Museum Foundation.

"I feel the university has a really important role to play not only in the Valley, but in the region," Hackett said. "I have first-hand knowledge of how excellent this university is, and I hope to make more people aware of its excellence and become involved in CSUN's future."

Hackett is pursuing a master's degree in studio art from Cal State Northridge, and has a bachelor's degree in English from Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash.