Cal State Long Beach President Jane Close Conoley has announced that she will retire at the end of the school year in June.
Conoley, 77, did not specify her plans following her departure. In a video released online, the outgoing administrator said the position served as a “beautiful capstone” to a 49-year career.
“I am filled with gratitude,” Conoley said. “Through both our trials and triumphs, I’ve immensely enjoyed being part of this community, and I am so proud of all we’ve done together.”
A committee appointed by the CSU chancellor and Board of Trustees expects to have a replacement by July.
In the decade since she took office, Conoley welcomed a 12% rise in student enrollment, set fundraising records and oversaw a massive expansion of the college. She became the first woman to be regularly appointed as college president and offered leadership to a post that navigated a housing crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic and a reckoning over racial justice.
Conoley has also been at the helm of the college as it’s been scrutinized over its treatment of Native land and, most recently, navigated campus protests and accusations of retaliation against professors who have urged the college to stand up for Palestine.
CSU Chancellor Mildred García praised Conoley in a statement Monday.
“Throughout her tenure,” García said, “President Conoley has demonstrated herself to be an exceptionally skilled, highly principled and truly visionary leader — a person of wisdom, thoughtfulness, empathy and compassion.”
At a Giving Tuesday fundraiser on Dec. 3, Conoley will personally match every donation up to $25,000 made to the President’s Scholars Program, which will celebrate its 30th anniversary. And at her eleventh and final commencement ceremony, Conoley will deliver remarks before she vacates her post.
In her closing remarks of the video announcement, Conoley said to her students and faculty that for now, she’s still around and looks forward to “our remaining work together.”
“You are in my heart,” she continued. “Now and in the future.”