Cal State\u00a0LA\u00a0President Berenecea Johnson Eanes has been named presidential sponsor of the American Council on Education (ACE) Women\u2019s Network of Southern California, a regional leadership collective dedicated to advancing women in higher education. She succeeds Cal Poly Pomona President Soraya M. Coley, who\u00a0began\u00a0serving\u00a0in the role\u00a0in\u00a02018.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The appointment places President Eanes at the center of a powerful regional network\u00a0that\u00a0shapes\u00a0the\u00a0future of higher education leadership across Southern California. As presidential sponsor, she will work closely with ACE Women\u2019s Network leaders to expand mentorship, professional development, and pathways to executive leadership for women across colleges and universities in the region.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As part of\u00a0her\u00a0new role, Cal State LA will host the ACE Women\u2019s Leadership Conference, welcoming higher education professionals from across Southern California for a day of connection, learning, and collaboration.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCreating spaces where women leaders can learn from one another and build community is essential to strengthening our institutions and the communities they serve,\u201d President Eanes said. \u201cThis work aligns deeply with Cal State LA\u2019s mission and with Los Angeles itself\u2014a region shaped by collaboration, resilience, and possibility.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now\u00a0in her third\u00a0year\u00a0as\u00a0president, Eanes has steadily expanded Cal State LA\u2019s footprint as a civic and regional leader. She is the ninth president of the university and the first woman to hold the\u00a0position. Since assuming office on Jan. 8, 2024, following her appointment by the California State University Board of Trustees, her leadership has emphasized student success, equity-driven innovation, and deep engagement with Los Angeles communities\u00a0and partners.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Central to this progress is the leadership team President Eanes has assembled,\u00a0bringing together some of the brightest minds from higher education, public service, and industry.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Together, they are advancing key initiatives focused on student achievement, workforce alignment, research excellence, and community impact\u2014ensuring that Cal State LA\u00a0continues\u00a0to\u00a0create pathways to\u00a0opportunity and upward mobility for students across the region.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In 2024, Eanes was elected to the Board of Directors of the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU), an international organization of institutions committed to improving the social, economic, and cultural well-being of the cities they serve. Her peers selected her for the 2024\u201326 term in recognition of her leadership in advancing the mission of urban universities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
CUMU\u00a0designated\u00a0Cal\u00a0State LA as an anchor institution for its sustained commitment to community transformation.\u00a0The\u00a0university\u00a0is ranked number one in the nation for student upward mobility, according to the 2025 California Mobility Index.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAt its core, my leadership is about building opportunity\u2014by working together, investing in people, and ensuring that students and communities across Los Angeles can thrive,\u201d Eanes said. \u201cProgress happens when institutions lead with purpose and partnership.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n
Beyond campus, Eanes is deeply engaged in regional and national leadership, serving on the Board of Governors of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, the Executive Committee of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation, and the Board of Directors of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Founded in 1977 by the American Council on Education, the ACE Women\u2019s Network is a national system of state-based networks designed to advance women\u2019s leadership in higher education. Southern California is one of two\u00a0regions in\u00a0California\u00a0facilitating\u00a0mentorship, leadership development, and collaboration among women leaders shaping the future of higher education.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cal State\u00a0LA\u00a0President Berenecea Johnson Eanes has been named presidential sponsor of the American Council on Education (ACE) Women\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":480383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":{"0":"post-480382","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-united-states-of-america","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","14":"tag-us","15":"tag-usa"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=480382"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480382\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/480383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=480382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=480382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=480382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}