By Nasai Rivas
Long Beach State President Jane Close Conoley will retire at the end of the 2024-2025 academic year, following her announcement in a video posted on Nov. 25.
Since 2014, Conoley was CSULB’s first regularly appointed female president and will have led the university for 11 years once she retires in June 2025.
The Long Beach Current spoke with students around campus on their thoughts regarding Conoley’s retirement and her successor.
Second-year aerospace engineer Brandon Gardea, 19, supports Conoley’s decision to retire but called it “unfortunate.”
“Good for her to, I guess, take a break from it all; it’s probably pretty stressful, especially because of the recent protests last year,” he said.
From his time as a student, Gardea said things have been running okay, but he hopes Conoley’s successor creates more accessible bike paths across campus.
First-year graduate students and chemistry majors Jude Saxton, 23, and Rathana Keo, 32, hope the next president prioritizes faculty on campus.
“The faculty is really what makes the campus what it is,” Saxton said.
Saxton said providing faculty with better pay and better support systems for them to succeed is essential for the college ecosystem.
First-year graduate students Jude Paxton (left) and Rathana Keo (right) hope CSULB’s next president focuses on making faculty’s lives better. Photo credit: Nasai Rivas
First-year mechanical engineering major Steven Gendy, 18, said all he knows about Conoley is that she has a negative reputation among some students who post about her on the social media platform Reddit.
Fourth-year accounting major Brianna Torres, 22, has also heard negative opinions from other students.
“They [say] ‘So, why does she make so much money?’ And they’re taking away more from the CSUs or think that some professors deserve more,” Torres said.
Torres believes the next president should do more to listen to what students and faculty have to say.
“Make them feel heard,” Torres said.
Fourth-year electrical engineering major Adrian Vera, 21, was optimistic about Conoley’s decision and said she provided a “good service” as president.
“Might be time for something new,” Vera said, joking about Conoley’s retirement. “I hope retirement treats her nice, maybe get on some good golf courses.”
Vera hopes that CSULB’s next president can look into getting rid of “bad professors” who have long tenure.
“Get some different ways to review that ’cause I feel like that’s the biggest problem we have here,” Vera said.
According to a report by the Long Beach Current, Conoley said she would remain president until the search for her successor is finished, with a new president coming into office by the start of the next academic year.
