The California State University Board of Trustees has named Joseph Castro, vice chancellor of student academic affairs at UC San Francisco, as Fresno State’s next president. The announcement was made on Wednesday morning.

Castro was among the finalists to succeed President John Welty — Fresno State’s longest-tenured president who has served for 22 years. Welty will remain on the job through the end of July to help with the transition process.

Castro will start his new position by Aug. 1, according to a CSU release.

“It is incredibly humbling that the CSU trustees have appointed me as the next president of Fresno State, and I truly appreciate this honor,” Castro said in the release.

“Dr. Welty has been successful in leading Fresno State over the last 22 years. I look forward to working alongside the faculty, staff and students at the university and with alumni and friends throughout the Central Valley and beyond to build on this strong foundation and to guide Fresno State to new heights of success.”

Castro is a Hanford native and received his bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in public policy from UC Berkeley.

He earned his doctorate in higher education policy and leadership at Stanford and is the first person in his family to attend college, according to his official bio on UC San Francisco’s website.

Castro also served on as vice provost at UCSF from 2008-10 and associate vice chancellor for student academic affairs from 2006-08. He also has held leadership positions within the UC system at the Berkeley, Davis, Merced and Santa Barbara campuses in his 23-year career.

“I add my congratulations to Dr. Castro,” Welty said in a statement. “I have known him for many years and he will provide great leadership for Fresno State in the coming years. I look forward to working with him over the next few weeks to effect a smooth transition.”

The search for Fresno State’s next president was conducted behind closed doors, with the university’s search committees withholding the names of applicants throughout the process.

The CSU system’s selection process was conducted publicly until September 2011, when the board of trustees elected to keep the selection process confidential, the reasoning being that it would attract a higher quality of applicants.

The CSU Board of Trustees also announced William Covino, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Fresno State, as president of CSU Los Angeles.

Covino will succeed retiring CSULA President James M. Rosser — who has served as the school’s president since 1979.

Covino is expected to begin his new position on Sept. 1.