The Cal State Long Beach community will have a chance to meet the final four candidates for the vice president of student services position in the coming two weeks.
Each candidate will visit campus to give a short presentation, answer questions and engage in dialogue with the CSULB community, said Lynn Mahoney, interim vice provost and dean of undergraduate studies.
The finalists, Beth Hellwig, William E. Hudson, Jr., Carmen Tillery Taylor and Trae T. Cotton, will participate at separate open forums at CSULB today, Wednesday, Friday and on April 29, respectively.
The CSULB community will also be able to anonymously provide feedback regarding each candidate at www.csulb.edu/divisions/students/VP_search.
“Feedback [from students, faculty and staff] is critical because we need to hire the most qualified candidates that will instill confidence in all of us and that work well with our campus culture,” said Mahoney, who also serves as chair of the vice president of student services search committee.
According to the CSULB website, one of the primary responsibilities of the vice president for student services is to administer various student programs and services related to student growth and development.
The position was formerly occupied for 22 years by Doug Robinson, the longest serving vice president of student services in the Cal State University System. After Robinson’s retirement in August, Associate Vice President of Student Services and Director of Counseling and Psychological Services Mary Ann Takemoto was chosen as the interim vice president of student services.
Mahoney said the search for the new vice president began in the fall, and that the final four candidates were chosen out of a pool of more than 80 applicants. In addition, applicants remained anonymous up until the finalists were chosen.
“Students should come out to the open forum and then let us know about what they think of the candidates,” Mahoney said. “All the candidates will be meeting with [Associated Students Inc.], so your elected representatives will also have a lot of feedback on the candidates.”
Applicants were selected through the executive search firm, Storbeck Pimentel. The firm was previously used to fill the CSULB provost and president positions, along with the chancellor’s position, Mahoney said.
“It’s quite a common practice to use a search firm to help you identify really strong candidates,” she said. “I think the quality of our finalists demonstrate they did a really good job.”
The final hiring decision, Mahoney said, will be made by incoming university president Jane Close Conoley. She also said that the new president is anxious to hear what the students, faculty and staff have to say.
“President Conoley will get feedback from Interim President [Don] Para, all of the current vice presidents, students, faculty and staff,” Mahoney said. “I imagine she is going to collect all of this to make her decision … she is quite anxious to get as much feedback as she can.”