Two finalists have been announced for the role of provost and vice president of Academic Affairs.
In an email sent to Cal State Fullerton campus employees on Jan. 22, it was announced that three finalists were invited to visit campus to participate in a series of open forums. These forums allow finalists to share what they would bring to the role if chosen.
However, in a second email sent on Jan. 27, it was announced that the third candidate scheduled to have an open forum on Jan. 29 withdrew from consideration.
The two standing finalists are the University of Texas at El Paso’s Vice Provost for Learning Innovation and Dean for the College of Education Clifton S. Tanabe and University of North Florida, Jacksonville’s Dean for the College of Arts and Social Sciences Kaveri Subrahmanyam.
Tanabe got the role of VPLI for the University of Texas at El Paso in 2022 after serving as the Dean for the College of Education since 2018. He previously served in multiple roles at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa from 2005 to 2018.
He also taught at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse as an assistant professor and became the director and co-founder of the Research Center for Cultural Diversity and Community Renewal.
Before becoming the Dean for the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of North Florida, Jacksonville, Subrahmanyam served in multiple positions at Cal State Los Angeles since 1996, where she still works as a professor for the department of psychology today.
She is currently the Associate Dean of the College of Natural and Social Sciences at Cal State LA, since 2019.
At CSUF, the provost and VPAA provides academic and strategic leadership for the university’s undergraduate, graduate research and public service programs.
They also oversee “more than 2,000 faculty and 300 staff members, eight colleges, Academic Programs, Academic Operations, Academic Student Success, Academic Finances and Space Management, Research and Sponsored Projects, Strategic Initiatives, Library, and Extension and International Programs.”
With CSUF being labeled as a hispanic-serving institution, the university is looking to seek someone for the role who “has experience with addressing the needs of a complex and multicultural campus population primarily comprised of first-generation and commuter students.”
If one of the finalists is chosen, they will serve as one of the six vice presidents of CSUF and as a member of President Ronald Rochon’s cabinet.
The finalist chosen will be taking the place of current interim Provost and VPAA Amir Dabirian, who announced his retirement in March 2025 after serving the CSUF community for 40 years.
Dabirian will continue to operate in the role as interim provost until a candidate is chosen.