Sonoma State University President Ruben Armiñana’s successor will soon be selected after a process and a series of meetings are complete in the upcoming months.
Armiñana has dedicated 24 years to Sonoma State and does not have a role in selecting our new president. There is a search committee designed to find the next president and Sonoma State has an international search going on to help draw in the most qualified candidate to the university. Many meetings are currently being held that representatives from different departments attend in order for the faculty and staff to provide input and help decide on who is best qualified to fill Armiñana’s shoes.
“I would hope the new president is someone who would deeply care for the students and do everything in their power to continue providing an outstanding education in a safe and happy campus environment,” said junior Katie Crabtree.
Dan Condron, Vice President of University Affairs, described the process for appointing a new president. The process begins with the Trustees Committee for the Selection of the President. The committee appoints an advisory committee, who then work together to find a new president for Sonoma State.
“The Trustees Committee, which is also known as the Search Committee, has six members, which are the chancellor [and the] Chairmen of the Board of Trustees, who will appoint four additional members to the Board of Trustees,” said Condron.
Condron said the advisory committee, who plays a role in choosing a new president, has a few members as well. The advisory committee is comprised of the Chair of the Academic Senate, (Sonoma State Professor Richard Senghas) and two other faculty representatives who are elected by the faculty. The advisory committee also includes one member of the campus support staff chosen by staff, one student representative, one alum of the university chosen by the Alumni Association, one
Vice President or Academic Dean of the University and a President of another CSU campus chosen by the CSU Chancellor.
Sonoma State’s Vice President for Administration and Finance, Larry Furukawa-Schlereth, has been asked by Chancellor White to assist and help facilitate in choosing a staff member to serve on the Search Advisory Committee. He described a staff member as a non-faculty employee who is identified as represented or confidential.
After committees have been chosen, four meetings will be held, some open to the public and others closed for just the committees. One public meeting will be on campus on Oct. 8 on campus and open for the public and students are encouraged to attend. That meeting is scheduled tentatively for 1 p.m. in the Student Center. The next meeting is on Dec. 1 and is only for the committees to attend. At that meeting, the committees will decide on who they will interview for the open position. On Jan. 10 and Jan. 11, the committees will conduct interviews with final interviews for the position held Jan. 25. This is when the committees will make the final selection and make a recommendation of who they have chosen and pass that on to the CSU Board of Trustees. The entire CSU Board of Trustees have the final vote on who will be selected as Sonoma State’s next president.
Sonoma State’s new president will be announced on Jan. 27, 2016.
For more information the Board of Trustees policy for the selection of the president, visit calstate.edu.
