Three candidates have been announced for the vice president of University Advancement position.
The search has been long-running, initially commencing in spring of 2025 and failing several times, despite candidates being selected throughout multiple searches.
On Nov. 12, an email was sent to campus announcing that the search had failed and would resume in the spring.
“After careful consideration and with the support of President Ronald Rochon, our search committee has decided to extend the search. We appreciate you taking the time to participate and offer your perspectives,” the statement reads.
The VPUA is part of the president’s cabinet and is one of six vice president roles, and oversees fundraising, alumni relations and Cal State Fullerton’s philanthropic foundation aiming to generate private financial support from such supporters.
The first candidate announced is Kimberly Shiner, the current interim VPUA.
She received her bachelor’s degree in journalism and her master’s degree in public administration at Cal State Northridge.
She previously served as vice president for advancement and communications at Pitzer College in Claremont and as associate vice president of university advancement at Cal State San Bernardino.
The second announced candidate is Jed W. Schwendiman, who most recently served as vice president for advancement at the University of Redlands.
Previously, he was assistant dean and senior director of development for the Marlan and Rosemary Bourns College of Engineering at UC Riverside, as well as the interim director and assistant director of development at Southern Methodist University.
He received a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington and a master’s degree in psychology at the University of New Hampshire.
The third candidate is Steven Anthony George, who is currently serving as assistant vice chancellor for advancement for the health sciences colleges at the University of Illinois Chicago, a role that he has held since 2021.
Before this he was the assistant dean for advancement at UIC’s College of Nursing.
He has also previously held a role at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as the senior director of advancement for the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
George earned a bachelor’s degree from Bradley University with a major in vocal performance and a minor in marketing.
The role has been headed by Shiner in an interim capacity since 2024, succeeding Greg Saks who served in the role for 11 years. Saks left after he was appointed as the vice chancellor of the division of external relations and communications at the chancellor’s office by former CSUF president and current CSU Chancellor Mildred García.
The candidates conducted forums at the Pollak Library room 130 and over Zoom where students, faculty members and staff could ask questions and provide feedback. For those who could not attend, recordings of each session were posted in the search website.
A recommendation will be made by the search committee, but ultimately the final decision will be made by CSUF President Ronald Rochon.