By Long Beach State President for the last 10 years, Jane Close Conoley, announced that she will retire from the university after the 2024-2025 school year effective June 30, 2025 in a video released today.
Her announcement video, sent to all students emails, began with congratulating the universities’ accomplishments over the past 75 years. She then followed by announcing her official retirement.
“I’ll be watching this institution’s exciting evolution from what was once a more distant concept: retirement,” Conoley said in the video.
Conoley and her team are looking for a successor, but she said she will continue to hold her position and duties as CSULB President until the search is complete.
It will have been her eleventh year as university president when she steps down.
Conoley left University of California, Riverside and joined CSULB as president on July 15, 2014 at age 67. She became the institution’s first regularly appointed female president. Now at age 77, Conoley plans to retire but remain active in the university’s community.
In a press release from the university’s website, CSU Chancellor Mildred Garcia commented, “Throughout her tenure, President Conoley has demonstrated herself to be an exceptionally skilled, highly principled and truly visionary leader — a person of wisdom, thoughtfulness, empathy and compassion.”
Included in the video, Conoley mentioned CSULB’s involvement in the philanthropy program, Giving Tuesday. This project raises funds for university programs on donor-based merit, and is responsible for numerous scholarships awarded to students.
