Fresno State’s current president Dr. Joseph I. Castro made history Wednesday as the first Mexican-American chancellor in CSU history.

Castro becomes the eighth chancellor in the system’s history, the California State University board of trustees said.

Following a nearly eight-year tenure at Fresno State, Castro replaces current chancellor Timothy P. White, who will be retiring at the end of this year.

Effective Jan. 4, 2021, Castro will be leading the largest public university system in the country with nearly 482,000 students across 23 campuses.

Castro, a Central Valley native and grandson of immigrants, sent out a statement to Fresno State students through a campus email detailing his appointment.

“It is with mixed feelings that I share the news today of my appointment by the California State University Board of Trustees as the eighth chancellor of the CSU, effective Jan. 4, 2021,” Castro said in the email. “I am thrilled to be the first California native to serve as the leader of the nation’s largest public university system at a time when our continued success could not be more consequential for our state and country.”

Chair of the CSU Board of Trustees Lillian Kimbell said Castro is an advocate for students.

 “Above all, he [Castro] is a leader who inspires greatness in students, faculty and in the broader community,” Kimbell said. “He is the right leader for the California State University in our current circumstance and for our future.”

Before his time at Fresno State, Castro held a variety of leadership positions in the University of California (UC) system, including vice chancellor of student academic affairs and professor of family and community medicine at UC San Francisco. 

Castro first made history in 2013, as he was appointed the first Latino president at Fresno State. His hiring at Fresno State was a homecoming of sorts, as Castro would visit the campus as a child growing up in Hanford.

As a son of a single mother, Castro became the first in his family to graduate from a university. He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s in public policy from UC Berkeley and a Ph.D. in higher education policy and leadership from Stanford.

Vice President for Administration and Chief Financial Officer Debbie Adishian-Astone spoke about her working relationship with Castro and the impact he had at Fresno State.

“Dr. Castro’s steadfast and visionary leadership has transcended Fresno State to national recognition in many important areas including affordability and accessibility,” Astone said. “Since his arrival in 2013, he has been laser focused on ensuring that every student is successful in gaining their degree and that any barriers to achieving this goal are removed.”

Director of university communications Patti Waid shared her thoughts on Castro’s appointment.

“It’s an incredible honor to work under Dr. Castro’s strategic, inspiring and courageous leadership. As a proud Fresno State alumna, I look forward to seeing him advance Cal State, the nation’s largest public university with 482,000 students, to even greater heights,” Waid said on Twitter.

During his time at Fresno State, Castro and the university have preached diversity within the student enrollment numbers. Diversity among students has risen exponentially each year since he took office, with most prevalent being Hispanic enrollment.

In the fall of 2013, the reported numbers for all Hispanic students were 9,352, nearly 40.5% of the student body, and in the spring of 2020 it was reported at 12,155 (53.3% of the student body).

Castro was also a big proponent of undocumented students and DACA, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, students. Fresno State has about 600 DACA students and its own Dream Success Center as well, which is a place on campus dedicated to serving Dreamer students.

“I have long advocated for permanent protection via a legislative solution for Dreamers ”” young and high-achieving individuals who were brought to the U.S. as children through no choice of their own,” Castro said in June. “For example, last fall, 600 university presidents and I signed a letter urging Congress to pass bipartisan legislation to provide permanent protection for Dreamers.”

Castro said the DACA students at Fresno State “represent the potential offered by our country and are a key part of California and our nation’s future.”

Castro will now be faced with a multitude of issues in his initial year as the CSU chancellor. These issues include addressing long-term budgetary deficits, advocating for financial support at the state and federal levels, meeting basic student needs and better preparing students for virtual learning, all of which have been affected by the pandemic.

In a campus email, Castro gave a statement on the search for a new president at Fresno State.

“In the coming weeks, Chancellor Timothy P. White and I will be able to share more details about the future leadership of Fresno State, including an interim appointment who will serve as campus president beginning in early 2021,” Castro said. “I am committed to ensuring a smooth and effective transition of campus leadership.”

After consultation with the chair of the board of trustees and select members of the Fresno State campus community, White will appoint an interim president when Castro takes over as chancellor.

The chair of the board will then announce the search for the next president, appoint a group of trustees and campus stakeholders and begin the search, according to a CSU spokesperson.

The spokesperson said the search typically kicks off with an open forum held on campus, but because of COVID, it’s possible that it takes place virtually.

Fresno State academic senate chair Thomas Holyoke gave his thoughts on Castro’s appointment.

“As chair of the Academic Senate, I have worked extensively with President Castro,” Holyoke said.  “While we have not always agreed on everything, he always took the time to hear faculty concerns, and never brushed us off. In addition, he is serious about providing higher education opportunities to everyone who wants an education, cares about students enormously, and is very patient. These skills will serve him well as Chancellor of the 23 campuses of the California State University system.”

Director of Organizational Excellence Kathleen Scott came to Fresno State in 2012, a year before Castro was appointed as the president of Fresno State.

Scott said Castro helped support the creation of the office that she leads. She said she had the chance to lead some important initiatives that Castro championed as a university leader, including individual and organizational excellence.

One of Scott’s favorite memories, she said, is when Castro introduced the campus to what she called his favorite four-letter word: bold.

“In January at the faculty and staff assembly, he [Castro] started talking about being bold, and I think what that did is it challenged all of us as a community to really reflect on what does bold look like, what does that mean, how will that transform Fresno State and how do we achieve that vision.” Scott said. 

It speaks to his leadership that he created a mantra that he really believed in and challenged all of the faculty and staff to come along the ride with him, Scott said. 

“I think we’re losing a great leader, the CSU is gaining a great leader and so we should all be really proud of that,” Scott said. “I think he helped transform Fresno State into where we are today, and I think he had a really strong commitment, from my lens, to all of our employees.”

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval praised Castro for his leadership he exemplified during his tenure as president.

“Thanks to President Castro’s leadership, Fresno State has advanced in national rankings, as well as in its sense of unity and promise…Dr. Castro has built solid foundations for our next levels of achievement.” Jiménez-Sandoval said. “We will continue to benefit from his guidance as he shifts into his new role as CSU Chancellor.”

An introductory webinar, “Conversation with the Chancellor-select,” will be held on Friday, Sept. 25, with Castro as he addresses students, faculty, staff and stakeholders about his vision for the CSU system.

Written with a contribution from Zaeem Shaikh