The Board of Trustees will be responsible for selectiving CSUN’s new president. Erik Fallis, CSU media specialist, said the news of President Jolene Koester’s departure was made public when she sent her letter. “At some point the Board of Trustees will do a search,” Fallis said. “We are currently doing a search for (a president for) San Diego State (University), for example.” Fallis said because Koester’s retirement announcement is so recent, there will not be a “scheduled search announcement for… Read more

The Board of Trustees has outlined a contingency plan to battle a proposed “all cuts” budget that includes wait listing student applications and increasing tuition by 32 percent in addition to the 10 percent already approved for 2011-12 school year. The contingency plan as it stands now includes ways to combat an additional $500 million cut bringing the CSU deficit to $1 billion. In a press release sent out May 10, CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed said the tax extensions… Read more

Students who meet in-state tuition requirements are closer to getting financial aid. The bill is on its way to the governor’s desk. AB 130 was passed by the state assembly and is now moving to the senate. Its companion bill, AB 131, has been put into suspension. AB 130, authored by Assemblymember Gil Cedillo, states undocumented students would receive “specified financial aid programs administered by California’s public colleges and universities,” according to Cedillo’s website. Conrado Terrazas, communications deputy for Cedillo,… Read more

Dr. Jolene Koester announced her retirement as president of CSUN. In an email to the CSUN community, Koester said she is stepping down and retiring December 2011. In her message, she highlighted some of the university’s achievements in her more than 10 years as president. “Our graduation rates have improved and we are now a beautiful and distinctive campus with improved business processes,” Koester said. Koester also noted the Valley Performing Arts Center (VPAC) as a major milestone in CSUN’s… Read more

CSUN President Jolene Koester will retire by the end of Fall 2011. Koester sent out an email earlier today announcing her plan to faculty and students. Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Harry Hellenbrand who has worked with Koester said she will be missed. “It’s a big loss to us all – personally and collectively,” Hellenbrand said. He said Koester’s “legacy” would be the philosophy she has established on campus. “It will carry us through,” Hellenbrand said. He added… Read more

CSUN’s Information Technology (IT) has stepped into the modern era of computing and now has made available to all students, faculty and staff a virtual computing lab (VCL) that allows them to log in and use software from any computer in any location. In an email interview, IT executive analyst Danita Leese said the pilot program of the VCL went well. “Feedback thus far from the various VCL pilots indicates that faculty and students are in favor of the anywhere,… Read more

The Mitchell Family Counseling Clinic is an institution that allows graduate students to work in a fully operational clinic serving the public around CSUN. The clinic is a part of a part of the Marriage and Family Therapy program for the Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling in the Michael D. Eisner College of Education. Dr. Michael Laurent, director of the clinic, said it originally started in the 1990s under the name Community Counseling Resource Institute. “In 2006, a generous… Read more

Dr. Cynthia Z. Rawitch, vice president of undergraduate studies, will be taking over the vice provost position at CSUN. Harry Hellenbrand, provost and vice president of academic affairs along with a search and screening committee appointed Rawitch to the position, which she will begin in August. Rawitch said she is happy to start her new position. “I never in a million years thought I would be involved in central university administration,” Rawitch said. Hellenbrand said this new appointment came about… Read more