CSU Stanislaus President Hughes to Retire; CSU Chancellor Reed Appoints Her as Interim President for 2004/05

“Marvalene is an outstanding leader in American higher education, not only in this state,” said Chancellor Reed. “She is a tireless advocate for CSU Stanislaus and the entire CSU system. The Board of Trustees, her presidential colleagues and I are pleased that she has accepted my offer to serve as interim president this coming academic year.”

Hughes, who has been president at CSU Stanislaus for 10 years, is retiring from regular CSU service and participating in the state’s early retirement program offered to CSU faculty that provides two years additional service credit to faculty members (she is a tenured faculty member in psychology).

The search for a new CSU Stanislaus president will begin in October and is expected to conclude in March when the Board of Trustees would name a new president. The search will follow established CSU procedures and the search committee will be chaired by a CSU trustee and will include other trustees, the chancellor, another CSU president and representatives of the campus faculty, staff, students and alumni, and the community.

During her presidential tenure, Hughes has overseen construction of $70 million in new university facilities; initiated several new academic programs; and established the Stockton Eighth Grade Initiative and the Stanislaus County Eighth Grade Initiative. Student enrollment has increased and diversified, CSUS-Stockton has stabilized, and the campus has become a Hispanic Serving Institution. She also is active nationally, especially with the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), where she co-founded the Millennium Leadership Initiative to provide leadership training for persons traditionally underrepresented in higher education administration.

“Keeping Marvalene at CSU Stanislaus for the coming academic year reaffirms her commitment to the campus, community and the CSU. She will continue to move forward the campus’ strategic planning process and to make Stanislaus the region’s university of choice,” said Reed.

The California State University is the largest system of senior higher education in the country, with 23 campuses, more than 409,000 students and 44,000 faculty and staff. Since the system was created in 1961, it has awarded about 2 million degrees, about 77,000 annually. The CSU is renowned for the quality of its teaching and for the job-ready graduates it produces. Its mission is to provide high-quality, affordable education to meet the ever-changing needs of the people of California. With its commitment to excellence, diversity and innovation, the CSU is the university system that is working for California. See www.calstate.edu.