Jolene Koester
President, California State University, Northridge
Dr. Jolene Koester began her appointment as the fourth president of California State University, Northridge on July 1, 2000.
Prior to her appointment, Dr. Koester served as provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at California State University, Sacramento, a post she had held since 1993. Before her service as provost, she held other executive positions in the academic affairs division at Sacramento State, and was a faculty member there, as a professor of communication studies, since 1980.
She earned a Bachelor’s of Arts from the University of Minnesota in 1970, a Master’s of Arts in communication arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1971, and a Ph.D. in speech communication from Minnesota in 1980.
As an active member of the community, Dr. Koester serves on the boards of directors for the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley, the Valley Industry and Commerce Association, and the Southern California Biomedical Council. For the CSU, she serves on the Systemwide Budget Advisory Committee, the Human Resources Advisory Group, the Presidents’ Task Force on the Preparation of School Administrators, the Systemwide Task Force on Shared Governance, the Systemwide Admissions Advisory Council, and the Technology Steering Committee.
In 2002, she was recognized for her leadership in the community with the Armand Arabian Leaders in Public Service Award given by the Encino Chamber of Commerce and a “Woman Who Means Business” award given by the San Fernando Valley Business Journal. In 2003, Dr. Koester accepted a Star of the Valley Award from the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley on behalf of the University.
Since her arrival at the University, Dr. Koester has been committed to furthering the excellence of Cal State Northridge. Under her leadership, the university remains accessible to qualified students and maintains its historical commitment to diversity. The university also continues to play an indispensable role in the community and the region. At the beginning of her presidency, Dr. Koester identified several goals to serve as the focus of the campus’ efforts. These include improving graduation rates, creating a user-friendly campus, strengthening the university’s connections to the community, and increasing fundraising. CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed and the Board of Trustees in spring 2003 completed their first three-year performance evaluation of President Koester. The public summary called Dr. Koester “a very effective president for a very large urban university” who has “exhibited strong leadership skills that benefit CSUN and the California State University system.”