The California State University (CSU) Board of Trustees has appointed Cynthia Teniente-Matson, Ed.D., to serve as president of San José State University (SJSU). Teniente-Matson currently serves as president of Texas A&M University-San Antonio.
“San José State is a nexus of history, innovation, the sciences, the arts and so much more. As the founding institution of the California State University system, the university boasts an unparalleled history of service to the region and state. It also serves as an exemplar for research and discovery with graduates impacting industries and communities throughout Silicon Valley," said Teniente-Matson. “I am grateful for this opportunity to work alongside all of the talented and dedicated faculty, staff, administrators and friends of the university to accomplish our collective goal of providing opportunities for students to benefit from the transformative power of an SJSU education."
“Dr. Teniente-Matson has been a forward-thinking leader who has excelled at identifying and implementing new and innovative ways to improve student achievement," said CSU Trustee Christopher Steinhauser, chair of the SJSU search committee. “Her experience, skill set and dedication to student success make her the ideal candidate to lead SJSU in the next exciting chapter of the university's history."
While president, Teniente-Matson has led Texas A&M University-San Antonio's transformation to a comprehensive master's university that has also achieved Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) designation from the U.S. Department of Education. Among the strategic initiatives and partnerships the university has developed under her leadership are the creation of the Mays Center for Experiential Learning and Community Engagement, Cisneros Institute for Emerging Leaders, Institute of Water Resource Science and Technology, Cyber Engineering Technology/Cyber Security Research Center, and the university's first Facebook CyberSecurity University Program. She is an engaged leader focusing on the collective impact of university-community partnerships such as the ASPIRE partnership leveraging the power of collective impact for seven South Bexar County Independent School Districts, and a partnership with Workforce Solutions Alamo to advance the City of San Antonio's 1/8-cent sales tax Ready to Work initiative to advance training and degree completion. She has developed support from elected officials to build an economic regional hub for south Bexar County and partnerships such as the Espada Tract development with the San Antonio River Authority and the University Health expansion at its West entry on Jaguar Parkway.
Her dedication to advancing equity and inclusion led to the creation of the President's Commission on Equity.
Her appointment as president of SJSU marks a return to the CSU for Teniente-Matson who previously served as vice president for administration and chief financial officer for California State University, Fresno from 2004 to 2015.
Teniente-Matson earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, an MBA from the University of Alaska Anchorage and is a product of the CSU having earned a doctorate in educational leadership from Fresno State.
Teniente-Matson will assume the university presidency on January 16, 2023.
About the California State University
The California State University is the largest system of four-year higher education in the country, with 23 campuses, 477,000 students and 56,000 faculty and staff. Nearly 40 percent of the CSU's undergraduate students transfer from California Community Colleges. The CSU was created in 1960 with a mission of providing high-quality, affordable education to meet the ever-changing needs of California. With its commitment to quality, opportunity and student success, the CSU is renowned for superb teaching, innovative research and for producing job-ready graduates. Each year, the CSU awards more than 132,000 degrees. One in every 20 Americans holding a college degree is a graduate of the CSU and our alumni are 4 million strong. Connect with and learn more about the CSU in the CSU NewsCenter.