{"id":312695,"date":"2026-05-12T23:05:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T23:05:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/312695\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T23:05:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T23:05:19","slug":"new-csulb-president-sets-out-to-continue-the-universitys-mission-get-students-to-finish-line-press-telegram","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/312695\/","title":{"rendered":"New CSULB president sets out to continue the university\u2019s mission, get students to \u2018finish line\u2019 \u2013 Press Telegram"},"content":{"rendered":"

The office of incoming Cal State Long Beach President Loren Blanchard<\/a> overlooks the courtyard of Brotman Hall, where thousands of students, faculty and staff \u2013 now under his leadership \u2013 stroll each day.<\/p>\n

While still settling into the space \u2014 and his new role \u2014 Blanchard has set out to connect with the campus community, help students complete their higher education and continue the university\u2019s mission, among other priorities.<\/p>\n

The California State University Board of Trustees announced Blanchard\u2019s appointment as the next president of CSULB earlier this year. He has succeeded Jane Close Conoley, who announced her retirement in November 2024<\/a> after a decade in charge.<\/p>\n

Blanchard assumed the presidency this month \u2014 just in time for commencement. , he said during an interview on Monday, May 11.<\/p>\n

In a Monday, May 11, interview, Blanchard, who has more than 35 years in higher education, said it has been exciting to see how much has changed during his long career when it comes to supporting students. Providing such support matters to him on a personal and professional level, he said. As a first-generation college graduate, he has devoted his career to expanding student opportunity and success.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of the environments where I\u2019ve worked have been in places that educate a disproportionate number of first-generation students,\u201d Blanchard said. \u201cMy parents did not have the benefit of a higher education, but the reality is that didn\u2019t mean they didn\u2019t believe in higher education; they believed wholeheartedly that education was the pathway to advancement.\u201d<\/p>\n

His parents did everything possible and made many sacrifices to ensure that he and his sister would have the benefit of the highest quality education, he said.<\/p>\n

Blanchard has a bachelor\u2019s degree in speech pathology education from Xavier University, in Louisiana, a master\u2019s degree in education from McNeese State University in his hometown of Lake Charles, Louisiana, and a doctorate in educational psychology from the University of Georgia.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, I see myself in so many students, and it\u2019s my hope that students can see images of themselves in me as well,\u201d Blanchard said. \u201cI tell my story as often as I possibly can to students, so that they really can see that all things are possible, especially with a high-quality education that you have in front of you, such as what California State University, Long Beach, offers.\u201d<\/p>\n

An institution that believes in high expectations and providing authentic support allows students to get what they need in order to benefit from an education, Blanchard said. Student success and high expectations are what he\u2019s seen in the work that CSULB has done for its students for many years.<\/p>\n

\"Cal<\/p>\n

Cal State Long Beach President Loren Blanchard is interviewed by a reporter on Monday, May 11, 2026, in his office on the Long Beach campus. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"Cal<\/p>\n

Cal State Long Beach President Loren Blanchard is interviewed by a reporter on Monday, May 11, 2026, in his office on the Long Beach campus. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"California<\/p>\n

California State University Long Beach President Loren Blanchard on Monday, May 11, 2026, in his office on the Long Beach campus. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"California<\/p>\n

California State University Long Beach President Loren Blanchard on Monday, May 11, 2026, in his office on the Long Beach campus. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

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Cal State Long Beach President Loren Blanchard is interviewed by a reporter on Monday, May 11, 2026, in his office on the Long Beach campus. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

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\u201cOne of the things that really attracted me here is how consequential this university has been,\u201d he said, \u201cnot only in terms of making sure that students get exactly what they need in order to be ready for the workforce, ready for graduate and professional school, ready to become leaders in their professions, as well as in their communities, but that more importantly, that there is more value added as it relates to the mission.\u201d<\/p>\n

CSULB\u2019s mission is to enrich \u201cthe lives of its students and its surrounding community through globally informed, high impact educational experiences with superior teaching, research, creative activity and action for the public good,\u201d according to the university\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For Blanchard, this means that students walk away with confidence and know they are well prepared for what lies ahead. It also means that CSULB is aware of barriers that can stand in the way of students getting their degrees, especially those who are first-generation or come from financially challenging backgrounds, among other obstacles.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality is that the awareness of what students bring to us here at California State University Long Beach, and recognizing the importance of helping the students to address those barriers,\u201d Blanchard said, \u201cis really the linchpin in understanding why student success has been so effective here at this university for so many years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before joining CSULB, Blanchard served as president of the University of Houston-Downtown for the past five years. He led that university through a comprehensive strategic plan implementation and tracking process; increased institutional funding through grants, foundation gifts and legislative appropriations at both the state and federal levels; secured support expanding the campus; strengthened community relations; and built strategic alliances, among other accomplishments.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really mattered in terms of the work that we were doing to get students to degree completion, because we knew that it was going to make them socially mobile, not only to be able to help themselves,\u201d he said, \u201cbut more importantly to be able to help their families as well. That became really important for us, and we were really excited about the progress that we were making over the five-year period that I served as president there.\u201d<\/p>\n

CSULB, like UHD, acts as an anchor for its city and region, Blanchard said. At the University of Houston-Downtown, Blanchard helped lead work that morphed and grew into significant initiatives designed to improve the quality of life for Houston residents.<\/p>\n

Blanchard, for example, worked with the city to provide support through the university\u2019s social work and psychology programs to address homelessness in downtown Houston.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s just one example of the work that anchor institutions do, and not sit on the sideline,\u201d Blanchard said, \u201cbut to see what role (we can play with) all the vast amount of resources that a university has, in the capital that we\u2019ve got \u2013 intellectual capital, cultural, social. All of those pieces that matter so much can be used to really help a city to move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Similarly, Blanchard said, he is excited to work with the city of Long Beach. Many local leaders, who are also CSULB alumni, understand the power of partnership, he said. There have already been conversations about housing, including the role CSULB has in identifying ways housing could be improved for students and families in the area.<\/p>\n

CSULB is also playing a role in providing the future workforce for the local aerospace industry, he added, as well as preparing for the upcoming 2028 Summer Olympic Games.<\/p>\n

Blanchard is no stranger to Long Beach. He previously served for six years as the CSU\u2019s executive vice chancellor for academic and student affairs, and lived in the city. In that role, he led the development of the Graduation Initiative 2025, the CSU\u2019s 10-year student success effort that resulted in improved educational outcomes across the system, according to the CSU website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cFocusing on high-impact strategies as well as practices that were designed to get students to the finish line, to get them to degree completion in a timely manner, a lot of those strategies were actually developed and implemented right here at California State University, Long Beach,\u201d Blanchard said. \u201cThis place has been a model for so many universities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other leadership positions that Blanchard has held include provost and senior vice president of academic affairs at Xavier University, associate vice chancellor for academic and multicultural affairs at LSU\u2019s Health Sciences Center, and two roles within the University of Louisiana system \u2013 provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, and associate vice president for accreditation, leadership and accountability \u2014 according to his biography<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Throughout his career, Blanchard has emphasized the transformative power of higher education, the importance of student-centered institutions and the responsibility of universities to serve the public good.<\/p>\n

Top priorities that Blanchard has as the new CSULB president include hosting listening sessions with students, staff, faculty and the Long Beach community. He said he also wants to learn where the university is with its Beach 2030 Strategic Plan<\/a>, and see if an updated strategic plan is needed to continue the university\u2019s mission.<\/p>\n

Blanchard said he has already been connecting with student leaders and has been impressed with how they see the university continuing to escalate and grow \u2014 and the role they can play in terms of making that happen,<\/p>\n

\u201cThe beauty about this place is that it is about academic preparation,\u201d he said, \u201cbut it\u2019s also about leadership development.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blanchard said he also plans to connect with staff and faculty as much as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s important for people to realize just how powerful a network of people we\u2019ve got working at this university, and they\u2019re not just doing things that really improve conditions for us here and keeping us superior here at California State University, Long Beach, but to see the kind of work that they\u2019re doing within our local community, nationally and internationally,\u201d Blanchard said. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty phenomenal, and we want to make sure that everyone gets a chance to learn more about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

CSULB is a diverse campus, with more than 38,700 students enrolled. There are many people from different walks of life, with various racial, ethnic, socioeconomic and political backgrounds, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople bring all different kinds of viewpoints, which higher education is made for,\u201d Blanchard said. \u201cIt\u2019s what we\u2019re built for.<\/p>\n

\u201cCivility and respect matter a whole lot, and I know that is something that this university has pushed forward within the realm of understanding that we are designed and built to make sure that students, faculty and staff, that we\u2019re all aware of the varying viewpoints that are here on this campus,\u201d he added. \u201cAnd that we celebrate the diversity of those viewpoints, because it makes us all better in terms of knowing how to not only deal with all different kinds of issues, but also dealing with different kinds of people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many community members, meanwhile, engage with the Long Beach campus in myriad ways, such as attending musical performances or sporting events, Blanchard said. As the new president of the university, Blanchard said, he wants to ensure that the community continues to have opportunities to connect with the campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to be opening up more and more of those opportunities so that the local community can come in and not only see and experience the great, rich talent that we\u2019ve got here,\u201d he said, \u201cbut also to understand better how this place can serve not only as an educational resource, but certainly a cultural resource, a social resource, and all of the other myriad ways that the work here is designed to make people feel that their lives are better.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The office of incoming Cal State Long Beach President Loren Blanchard overlooks the courtyard of Brotman Hall, where…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":312696,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[7,23,131,133,132,137],"class_list":["post-312695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-california","tag-local-news","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news","tag-los-angeles-county"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=312695"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312695\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/312696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=312695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=312695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=312695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}