The California State University (CSU) Board of Trustees today approved a new Executive Consulting Assignment program for eligible executives. Participants in the program will provide institutional support and consultation to a new administration on a campus or at the Chancellor's Office. The Executive Consulting Assignment program will replace the Executive Transition II program which had been in place since 2006 and was suspended to new executives in March 2022 pending a review by the Trustees.
“The CSU is continuing to strengthen institutional policies and practices and the Executive Consulting Assignment program further demonstrates our commitment to uphold our fiduciary responsibility to our stakeholders," said Wenda Fong, Chair of the Board of Trustees. “This new policy establishes clarity about the responsibilities of participants and transparency about reporting, while ensuring that institutional knowledge and access to our leaders is preserved during a transition in leadership."
Executive Consulting Assignments are at-will assignments that will not exceed six months, while compensation for the assignments will not exceed fifty percent of the executive's base pay at the time of resignation from their executive position. Various responsibilities during an executive consulting assignment can include:
- Conferring and bestowing institution- and campus-specific knowledge to the incoming president/executive.
- Providing history and status on current institutional and campus issues, donor relations, legislative relations, strategic partnerships, legal matters, and CSU-wide initiatives.
- Making introductions to key state and community stakeholders and campus supporters.
Different versions of the CSU's Executive Transition Program have been in existence dating back to 1981. All were implemented to ensure that an executive's accumulated institutional knowledge and unique insight are available to new and existing leadership.
The chancellor, executive vice chancellors, vice chancellors and university presidents comprise the CSU executives who may be eligible for an Executive Consulting Assignment. All assignments are offered at the discretion of the chancellor (after board consultation), with the exception of an assignment for a chancellor which is offered at the discretion of the chair of the board in consultation with the chair of the Committee on University and Faculty Personnel.
To be eligible to request participation in the program, an individual must have served at least five years in an executive position at the CSU and must be in good standing at the commencement and duration of the assignment. Deliverables include a monthly report to the chancellor describing the activities and milestones completed.
The 25 incumbent executives who were eligible to elect to participate in Executive Transition II – all appointed prior to March 22, 2022 – retain that opportunity upon resignation or may instead request an Executive Consulting Assignment. Executives appointed after March 22, 2022, may request to participate in the Executive Consulting Assignment.
About the California State University
The California State University is the largest system of four-year higher education in the country, with 23 campuses, 477,000 students and 56,000 faculty and staff. Nearly 40 percent of the CSU's undergraduate students transfer from California Community Colleges. The CSU was created in 1960 with a mission of providing high-quality, affordable education to meet the ever-changing needs of California. With its commitment to quality, opportunity and student success, the CSU is renowned for superb teaching, innovative research and for producing job-ready graduates. Each year, the CSU awards more than 132,000 degrees. One in every 20 Americans holding a college degree is a graduate of the CSU and our alumni are 4 million strong. Connect with and learn more about the CSU in the CSU NewsCenter.