On Tuesday California State University trustees announced they’ve picked Mildred García, a longtime university administrator, to be the next chancellor of the 23-campus university system.
About the new chancellor
García previously served as president at both CSU Dominguez Hills and CSU Fullerton. She has most recently been president of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, an interest group representing 350 state universities and colleges.
“It was a daunting task to identify an individual who embodies those ideal qualities to lead the nation’s largest, the most diverse and its most consequential university system,” said board chair Wenda Fong.
The biggest challenge ahead
In one word: money. Trustees met Tuesday to discuss several budget items and other matters.
A $1.5 billion funding gap, detailed in a May report, looms large over trustees. The new chancellor, several trustees made it clear, is being brought in to face that problem and solve it.
“When the new chancellor comes,” said Board of Trustees Finance Committee Chair Julia Lopez “one of the priorities is we set a five year plan, however long it takes, a plan to bring our revenues and our cost in line… we can’t keep every year being further behind.”
A plan to increase tuition to help close that gap faced criticism by students, faculty, and even some students on Tuesday.
Sexual assault in CSU system
An independent report in May found that sexual assault policies were deficient and recommended a series of overhauls. On Tuesday, trustees said those improvements should be a priority for the new chancellor.
“We need to make our…
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