The California State University (CSU) Board of Trustees will begin the search for the new president of Fresno State with a virtual open forum on Feb. 9.

The chair of the board is required to appoint a Trustees Committee for the Selection of the President (TCSP) and an Advisory Committee to the Trustees Committee for the Selection of the President (ACTCSP) to supervise the process.

According to CSU board policy, “the TCSP determines the attributes desired for a successful candidate, approves the final campus and job descriptions, and any advertising copy and reviews and interviews candidates.”

The members of the TCSP are Joseph I. Castro, CSU chancellor; Lilian Kimbell, chair of the board; Wenda Fong, vice chair; Jane W. Carney, trustee and chair of the search committee; Diego Arambula, trustee; and Krystal Mae Raynes, trustee.

The ACTCSP works to advise the TCSP and is composed of representatives from the campus community that are selected by the staff, student body, alumni association and chancellor.

Sacramento State President Robert S. Nelsen will serve as the CSU president representative, and Paula Castadio, vice president for advancement at Fresno State, will serve as the administrative representative. 

Thomas Holyoke, chair of the Fresno State academic senate, will also be a member of the ACTCSP.

The Fresno State faculty representatives are chemistry professor Joy J. Goto and Jenelle S. Pitt, the counselor education and rehabilitation department chair.

The staff representative is Georgianna Negron-Long, the chair of the joint labor council. 

Associated Students Inc. President Elizabeth Rocha Zuñiga and Fresno State student Jacqueline Campos Ledezma will serve as the student representatives.

The Alumni Association representative is Edgar Blunt, and the University Advisory Board representative is Nicole Linder.

The community representatives are Carol Chandler and Clint Williams.

The virtual forum marks the first step in the presidential selection process, where the TCSP and the ACTCSP discuss campus needs and the desired qualities of the president, the CSU board policy outlines.

Campus and community members will be able to provide their input on these needs to the committees at the virtual forum.

The committees will continue to meet in sessions to determine a broad pool of candidates and will invite candidates to submit applications. The chancellor and chair of the TCSP determine if there are any internal CSU candidates that could be added to the pool for consideration.

Over the next several months, the committee will begin to review candidates and conduct interviews.