Candidate stresses helping students

Koester stresses helping students graduate in bid for Northridge presidency

By JOHN LIPERA
Courtesy of Daily Sundial, CSU Northridge
Published November 11, 1999

Jolene Koester, one of the four candidates seeking CSUN’s presidency, said helping students graduate and realize their dreams is of utmost importance.

Koester, 51, provost and vice president for academic affairs at California State University, Sacramento, said she respects CSUN’s commitment to student achievement.

"I have good goal-setting values with an eye toward strong management in the area of collegial governance, of working with faculty and students in the university environment," she says.

Koester, said Cal State Sacramento is similar to CSUN in its ethnic diversity and because it is a commuter school.

"The university has to be creative and flexible in its scheduling of classes to meet the needs of all students of all backgrounds, and that means providing classes that fit within the boundaries of students’ work and family commitments," she said.

She said the large number of students living on and near the campus are often overlooked.

"Building community and serving student interests should not be too difficult," she said.

Koester, one of five children born to German immigrant parents in Plato, Minn., said her parents stressed the importance of a college education because they had been denied even a high school education.

"The CSU system serves a very important role in providing access to the top one third of high school graduates," she said. "Helping them to graduate and realize their dreams is of utmost importance."

Geoffrey Sakala, Associated Students president at Cal State Sacramento, said Koester is a student-friendly administrator.

"(Koester has) always had her door open and even has advocated for students when they’ve had a legitimate issue," Sakala said. "I wish her good luck."

Shawn Lumachi, Cal State Sacramento Students Association representative, said he has worked with Koester on several committees and liked that she heard all sides of issues.

"(Koester is) an extremely supportive, remarkable person," Lumachi said. "She touches all four corners of an issue and everyone who will be affected.

"She would be an awesome president," he added.

Jacob Armstrong, the vice president of finance for Sacramento State’s Associated Students, said Koester is always facilitating and willing to step outside her job description in working with students.

Koester earned a master’s in communication arts from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and a Ph.D. in speech communications from the University of Minnesota.

She served as both an assistant and associate professor of communication studies for the past 19 years, both at Cal State Sacramento and the University of Missouri, Columbia.