Gov. Jerry Brown announced that Steven Stepanek, CSUN’s Computer Science Department Chair, has been appointed to the CSU Board of Trustees (BOT) Friday.

Stepanek, 62, has served as chair of the Computer Science Department for 14 years and has been a professor at CSUN since 1993. Stepanek also serves as the CSUN faculty president.

During the last two CSU BOT meetings there has been a lack of faculty representation on the board, which is a position the BOT is required by state law to fill.

Only one faculty member from the entire CSU system holds the role of faculty trustee. This senate member is personally selected by the governor from a list of two nominees proposed by the Statewide Academic Senate. Humboldt State University’s Bernadette Cheyne and CSUN’s Stephen Stepanek were the two faculty members nominated to fill the vacant seat before Gov. Brown made his selection.

“Each candidate makes an opening statement, answers questions and makes a closing statement,” said CSUN Web Communications Specialist Stephanie Thara in reference to the BOT nomination process. “(Then) the two nominees are chosen and sent to the governor.”

Employees of the CSU system were growing concerned with the absence of a faculty trustee according to Thara and were concerned that without board representation they would not have anyone to give them a voice regarding matters that involve them.

“We’d like to have representation from all stakeholders in the California State University, including students, faculty and administration,” Thara said.

The 25-member board meets six times a year to discuss matters that affect the entire CSU system. According to the CSU website, the board is responsible for the oversight of all CSUs, overseeing rules, regulations and policies. The board also holds control over circular development, use of property, and the development of facilities.