The following statement can be attributed to CSU Interim Chancellor Jolene Koester:
“Over the course of her 37-year career with the California State University, Dr. Ellen Junn has been a steadfast champion of improving the social mobility of Californians across the state, having served in consequential roles at our universities in San Bernardino, Fullerton, Fresno, San José, Dominguez Hills and Stanislaus.
Thanks to her efforts as president of Stanislaus State, students in the Central Valley now have greater access to the life-transforming power of a Cal State degree. Significant enhancements made to the Stanislaus State Stockton Campus under her leadership will lead to even greater opportunity.
She has also demonstrated a commitment to inclusive excellence and has worked tirelessly to expand diversity and inclusion on campus. As the nation's first Korean-American woman to serve as the president of a four-year public institution, Dr. Junn is also a trailblazer and an inspiration to many, having demonstrated that women of color can reach the highest levels of academia.
Many thousands of students have benefitted from Dr. Junn’s wise leadership, and I thank her for her numerous and extraordinary contributions over the course of her nearly four-decade career with the California State University."
On January 18, 2023, Stanislaus State President Ellen Junn announced that she would retire from her role at the end of the 2022-23 academic year.
An interim president will be appointed to lead the university, and the CSU will launch a national search to identify Junn's successor. Under university policy, the chair of the CSU Board of Trustees, Wenda Fong, and Interim Chancellor Jolene Koester will select a committee comprised of campus and community stakeholders who will be publicly announced at a later date. Thereafter, campus and community input will be sought in an open forum held on the Stan State campus.
About the California State University
The California State University is the largest system of four-year higher education in the country, with 23 campuses, nearly 460,000 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.