By The California State University (CSU) Board of Trustees chose Jolene Koester to serve as interim chancellor on Wednesday, March 23 after the resignation of former Chancellor Joseph I. Castro.
Koester said she felt humbled by the opportunity to serve as interim chancellor for the 23 campuses and that her values align with the faculty, staff, administrators’, executives’ and trustees’ devotion “to provide life changing educational opportunities” for students.
“I look forward to learning and providing my skills to guide the university during this transformational time in CSU history,” she said.
During Koester’s time as Cal State Northridge president from 2000 to 2011, she led the campus through “a time of exponential growth.” The population of students grew by more than 25%, going from 29,000 to nearly 37,000, according to the CSU website.
Lillian Kimball, Chair of CSU Board of Trustee said Koester is the” perfect person to lead CSU during this time.”
“CSU’s graduation and retention rates have reached all-time highs, but there is still a great deal of work to be done,” Kimball said. “We appreciate Dr. Koester’s passion and commitment to rejoin the university.”
Jolene Koester will begin her time as CSU Interim Chancellor on May 1, and her appointment is expected to last for 12 months while the Board of Trustees searches for a permanent chancellor.
