Koester named president of CSU Northridge

David Sommers
The State Hornet
Published November 16, 1999

Jolene Koester, CSUS Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, was named as the new President of California State University, Northridge on Tuesday morning.

Robert Jones, Vice President for University Affairs said Koester was informed of the decision around 9 a.m. Tuesday morning.

President Donald Gerth, attending the CSU Trustee’s meeting at the Chancellor’s Office in Long Beach, said he looks forward to working with her as a colleague.

"I’m absolutely delighted," Gerth said. " She will be a first rate president."

Koester was one of four finalists for the position, which is to take effect in January 2000.

"I’m very, very pleased with this oppurtunity to continue to work in the CSU system," said Koester.

The candidates visited Northridge last week and held public forums for the candidates to speak with campus constituencies. Koester spoke on Nov. 10.

Koester told the Northridge community that her commitment to the California State University system and her background in intercultural communications made her the right candidate.

The current provost of CSU, Northridge, Louanne Kennedy, has been serving as interim president since Wilson’s departure.

"She was absolutely our first choice. She knows the CSU. She has a commitment to quality and understands a large campus like ours," said Kennedy. "Together we’ll work to take the campus to the next level."

According to Ann Reed, assistant vice president for public affairs, it will be President Gerth’s determination who will fill the position of Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs because the announcement came so suddenly

Within the past 18 months Koester had also been a finalist for the presidency of two other colleges, the University of Toledo in Ohio, and the presidency of CSU San Bernardino.

A selection committee made up of CSU Board of Trustees members began the search for a new president in June. Nearly 100 candidates were involved in the selection process.

Speculations that Koester would eventually be a candidate for the Northridge job began circulating on the CSUS campus as far back as May, when former CSU Northridge president Blenda Wilson announced her resignation to become the CEO of a non-profit organization.

Other candidates for the Northridge position include Gretchen Battaille, provost and academic vice president at Washington State University, Antoine Garibaldi, provost and chief academic officer at Howard University, and Jane Pisano, senior vice president for external relations and former dean of the school of public administration at the University of Southern California.

Northridge is the fourth largerst campus in the CSU system with 27,000 students.

Koester first came to CSUS as a faculty member in 1983. She has since served as chair of the department of communication studies and held several executive positions in academic affairs since 1989.