Members of the public are invited to San Diego State University Monday to weigh in on the search for the school’s next president.
California State University representatives and a committee made up of SDSU and San Diego community members will hear public testimony on what they should be looking for in a new president.
Monday's Forum
Monday’s forum is scheduled for 12:30 to 2:30 in the Parma Payne Goodall Alumni Center ballroom. The public can also submit their thoughts in an email to presidentsearch@calstate.edu.
“This is an opportunity for all of the members of the campus community to share their opinions about what the critical qualities and characteristics are for the next SDSU president,” said CSU spokesman Michael Uhlenkamp.
Former President Elliot Hirshman left the university for a job at Stevenson University in Maryland. Sally Roush has been filling in as his interim successor since May.
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Both panels — the trustees and local committee — will use information shared at the forum to narrow down their search. The trustees will make the final call next year. Uhlenkamp said much of that process will occur in closed meetings.
“We want to maintain the confidentiality of people that are interested in this because we do think there are sitting presidents who would be interested in a great opportunity like the one at SDSU,” he said.
The committee includes SDSU faculty members Donna Conaty and William Nericcio; University Senate Chair Marcie Bober-Michel; Vice President of Research Stephen Welter; staff member Cyndi Chie; student Chimezie Ebiriekwe; alumnus Alan Dulgeroff; Campanile Foundation Board Chair Mary Curran; Union of Pan Asian Communities CEO Margaret Iwanaga Penrose; former Mayor Jerry Sanders; and CSU Dominguez Hills President Willie Hagan.
The individual they help choose will likely see the university through negotiations over the former Qualcomm Stadium site, aimed at increasing the university’s footprint. Enrollment has slowed as the university outgrows its urban campus on the mesa above Mission Valley. The new president will also take the helm at a time of both prestige — a growing profile as a research institution — and uncertainty — a political climate that has threatened federal funding and vulnerable student populations.
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Monday’s forum is scheduled for 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. in the Parma Payne Goodall Alumni Center ballroom. The public can also submit their thoughts in an email to presidentsearch@calstate.edu.
Uhlenkamp said the CSU trustees hope to have a new president in place by the start of next school year.
