CAL POLY - The dean of Cal Poly's College of Liberal Arts will become the No. 2 administrator at CSU Northridge.

Harry Hellenbrand will take over Aug. 1 as the provost and vice president of academic affairs at the San Fernando Valley university. With 33,000 students, Northridge is almost twice the size of Cal Poly, which has nearly 18,000.

Hellenbrand will oversee all academic programs and be second-in-command over the entire campus.

Hellenbrand said Tuesday that the Northridge position offers several attractive features, including a promotion, a larger campus and some bigger challenges. The move will also get him closer to family in Southern California.

"It's dealing with a bunch of issues that have been important to me for quite some time," he said.

They include leading collaborative teacher education programs between Northridge and the massive Los Angeles Unified School District, along with efforts to maintain campus diversity in an era of budget cuts.

The 50-year-old Hellenbrand said he has enjoyed his six years as a dean at Cal Poly and praised the administrators and faculty.

"I regret leaving the Central Coast," he said. "It's probably the nicest place to live in the state."

Hellenbrand has earned respect campuswide, said Manzar Foroohar, president of the faculty union.

"He's the greatest administrator we've had at Cal Poly," she said. "The main reason is he knows the contract; he knows the faculty rights.

"It's very, very easy to work with him. He's very honest, which is something very rare these days," she said.

Cal Poly administrators credit Hellenbrand with numerous achievements during his tenure, including raising funds for the university that have exceeded expectations for his college; hiring high-quality professors and lecturers; and leading efforts to improve campus climate and diversity.

"He's been a great member of our team here, and we're going to miss him severely," said Robert Detweiler, Cal Poly's interim provost and vice president for academic affairs.

He and Hellenbrand worked together at CSU San Bernardino, when Detweiler was president and Hellenbrand was an English professor and department chairman and later the associate dean of humanities.

Hellenbrand was at San Bernardino from 1982 to 1994 and was dean of liberal arts at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, from 1994 to 1998.

Detweiler said he has recommended to Cal Poly President Warren Baker that the university appoint an interim dean from existing staff and that a search for a new dean wait until the fall.

"There's not enough time between now and end of the school year to conduct a search," he said.

Baker could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Northridge President Jolene Koester released a statement Tuesday praising Hellenbrand's experience and skills.

"Hellenbrand will bring to CSUN a wide range of administrative experiences that will benefit greatly academic affairs and the university," she said.

Koester pointed to his experience in the CSU system and his background in planning, creating links with public schools and improving diversity.

Northridge spokeswoman Carmen Chandler said Hellenbrand was one of three finalists.

"What made him stand out was his vast experience in the system," Chandler said.

The provost position comes with an annual salary of $180,000, Chandler said. He currently makes $139,000 at Cal Poly.