Joseph I. Castro, president of Fresno State, the next CSU Chancellor in momentous day for the Valley

Castro will serve as the eighth chancellor of the CSU system

By California State University, Bakersfield

September 23^rd, 2020

In an historic day for the future of higher education in the Central Valley, the California State University Board of Trustees announced this morning that Joseph I. Castro, president of California State University, Fresno, will serve as the eighth chancellor of the CSU, the largest and most diverse system of higher education in this country. Castro will assume his duties on Jan. 4, 2021.

“The California State University provides unprecedented and transformational opportunities for students from all backgrounds to earn a high-quality college degree and to better their families, their communities and the industries in which they become leaders. There is no other institution that makes this great of an impact on the entire state – the CSU is key to a growing and thriving California,” said Castro. “I am truly grateful for and excited about this unique and wonderful opportunity, and I look forward to working with the talented faculty, staff and presidents of the 23 campuses as well the Board of Trustees and executives and staff at the Chancellor’s Office to further increase achievement for our 482,000 students.”

CSU Bakersfield President Lynnette Zelezny served as the provost and vice president for academic affairs at Fresno State under the leadership of President Castro.

Joseph I. Castro, president of Fresno State, the next CSU Chancellor in momentous day for the Valley

“I am so fortunate to call Chancellor-Select Castro a friend,” President Zelezny said. “I worked with him closely at Fresno State and watched as he put students first, brought constituencies together and worked tirelessly to build a tradition of higher education in the Valley. He is a man of integrity, compassion and principle and I am thrilled for him, for the Central Valley and for the CSU.”

Castro is the first California native and Mexican American appointed to lead the 23-campus CSU. His selection also marks a turning point for the Central Valley, its students, families and its unique place in California. Never before has a leader from the Valley held a position of equal influence and importance in the history of higher education in our state.

“We are on the move, and Chancellor-Select Castro understands this is a historic moment for our state and region and we must seize it,” President Zelezny said.

As president of Fresno State, Castro led the university to become a national leader in recruiting, supporting and graduating students from diverse backgrounds. Fresno State is routinely among the top public colleges in rankings issued by Washington Monthly, U.S. News and World Report and Money Magazine for its efforts to enhance student achievement as measured by graduation rates and social mobility. Castro is a respected scholar in the fields of higher education leadership and public policy.

“My great grandparents and grandfather immigrated here from Mexico about 100 years ago to work on the railroad and to work the land of the San Joaquin Valley, and I’ve been so honored for the last seven years to serve here at Fresno State,” said Castro in an emotional appearance before the trustees at their virtual meeting Wednesday.

“Like the majority of students that we serve at CSU, I was the first in my family to attend and graduate from a university, and that’s a gift that I’ve been paying back ever since, and I intend to continue paying that gift back over time as chancellor of the CSU.”

Castro will succeed Timothy P. White who is retiring after leading the university since late 2012 and has navigated the 23 campuses through unprecedented challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic and move toward distance learning.

The CSU community is invited to get to know Chancellor-Select Castro during a special live broadcast from 11 a.m. to noon Friday. Visit www.calstate.edu/chancellorconversation

The Board of Trustees also welcomed CSUB student Krystal Raynes, one of two student voting representatives on the board. Raynes is the first student from CSUB to serve in that position.