The California State University Board of Trustees has appointed Ellen N. Junn, Ph.D., as president of California State University, Stanislaus effective July 1. Junn, 58, is currently the provost and vice president for Academic Affairs for California State University, Dominguez Hills. She will serve as the campus’ 11th president following President Joseph F. Sheley who retires on June 30.
“Under the leadership of President Sheley, Stanislaus State has become an academic powerhouse in the Central Valley, providing students with a transformative educational experience and the region’s employers with job-ready graduates,” said Junn. “I look forward to coming back to the Central Valley and am honored to have the opportunity to work alongside the many dedicated faculty and staff who guide students along that journey and prepare them for achievements beyond the classroom.”
“As a higher education veteran who has held leadership positions at multiple CSU campuses, Dr. Junn is an accomplished and visionary leader who understands the importance of partnering with faculty, the campus community and external stakeholders to bolster educational opportunities for students," said CSU Trustee Hugo N. Morales, who served as the chair of the Trustees’ Committee for the Selection of the President. “She has a long history of always putting students first, and has expertise in working to increase academic achievement among students from underserved communities. She is skilled at connecting campus, organizational and political leaders to higher education.”
Junn built her academic career at the CSU, serving for the last 25 years in various teaching and leadership positions at five CSU campuses, including Dominguez Hills, San José, Fresno, Fullerton and San Bernardino. In her current role as provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at CSU Dominguez Hills, she is responsible for five academic colleges and six Academic Affairs units with more than 835 faculty. As the chief academic officer, she is responsible for overseeing academic policy in coordination with the president, Academic Senate, vice presidents, deans, department chairs, faculty and other campus stakeholders. During her tenure, she launched the Departmental Student Success and Innovative Teaching Grants Program, as well as a new Freshmen Success Program. She also worked in concert with other campus leaders to plan for the construction of a new Science and Innovation Building, opened two technology-enabled Active Learning Classrooms, and more.
Prior to her service at CSU Dominguez Hills, she was the chief academic officer at San José State. In addition to aligning the Academic Plan with the campus’ Vision 2017 plan and working to re-focus the campus’ Graduation Initiative, she also established the Undergraduate Research Initiative, co-chaired the campus’ Commission on Diversity, and established the African American Student Success and Hispanic Student Success Task Forces to better serve and increase graduation rates among students of color.
She also previously served as the associate provost at CSU Fresno, acting as the Western Association of Schools & Colleges (WASC) accreditation liaison officer, the director of various academic technology initiatives, the executive director of Programs for Children and the chair of the President’s Commission on Human Relations & Equity. She established the Center for the Advancement of Learning and Teaching, led campus-wide faculty development and founded both the Women’s Campus Connection and the Asian Faculty and Staff Association.
Prior to that time, she held various leadership positions at CSU Fullerton including associate dean of the College of Health and Human Development, director of the Faculty Development Center, administrative fellow in the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, director of the Office of Educational Equity and Faculty Mentor Program, acting head of the Department of Child Development, and coordinator of the Educational Equity and Faculty Mentor Program for the School of Human Development and Community Service. In addition, she was an associate and full professor, teaching child and adolescent studies. She began her teaching career in the CSU at CSU San Bernardino, serving as an assistant professor of psychology.
Junn is widely published and has written professional journal articles on topics such as supporting the success of underserved students, the importance of university-community engagement and strategies for supporting non-tenure track faculty, especially women and minorities.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in Experimental and Cognitive Psychology from the University of Michigan, where she graduated cum laude. She earned both a master’s and Ph.D. in cognitive and developmental psychology from Princeton University. In addition, she holds a Management Development Program Certificate from Harvard University, and a CSU-Knight Collaborative Program Certificate from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Institute for Research in Higher Education.
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The California State University is the largest system of senior higher education in the country, with 23 campuses, 49,000 faculty and staff and 474,600 students. Half of the CSU’s students transfer from California Community Colleges. Created in 1960, the mission of the CSU is to provide 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 105,000 degrees. One in every 20 Americans holding a college degree is a graduate of the CSU and our alumni are 3 million strong. Connect with and learn more about the CSU at CSU Social Media.