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Public Relations and = Strategic=20 Communications

News Release

Contact: Carmen Ramos Chandler
(818)=20 677-2130
carmen.chandler@csun.edu=20

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Dean Joins =
CSUN as=20 Campus' New Provost

(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., March 29, = 2004) --=20 Harold Hellenbrand, dean of the College of Liberal Arts at = Cal Poly=20 San Luis Obispo, will join Cal State Northridge on Aug. 1 as = its new=20 provost and vice president for academic affairs.=20

"Dr. Hellenbrand will bring to CSUN a wide range of=20 administrative and academic experiences that will benefit = greatly=20 academic affairs and the university," Northridge President = Jolene=20 Koester said. "Given CSUN's current challenges and = initiatives, his=20 breadth of experience and leadership are an excellent fit = for the=20 university."=20

The new provost has extensive experience in the CSU = system, both=20 at Cal Poly SLO and at CSU San Bernardino. His background = reflects=20 strengths in planning, K-12 linkages, retention efforts and=20 commitment to diversity. His many responsibilities at Cal = Poly=20 included direction of advancement activities and oversight=20 responsibility for the university's Performing Arts Center.=20

Hellenbrand looks forward to returning to Southern = California,=20 and especially to the public urban university setting he = considers=20 central to regional economic success and closer to major = political=20 and social currents.=20

"I am also attracted to Northridge's dedication to = teacher=20 renewal, something that is crucial to the Los Angeles area = now and=20 over the next 20 years," said Hellenbrand, who added he is = ready to=20 help take on the challenge to make higher education work = despite the=20 present climate of budget constraints.=20

"One of the major tasks of any provost, however, is not = solely to=20 develop ideas, but to help place priority levels for those = ideas so=20 that what the university wants to do, it can do well," he = said.=20

As provost and vice president for academic affairs, = Hellenbrand=20 will direct more than 1,700 faculty and staff members in Cal = State=20 Northridge's Division of Academic Affairs, the largest unit = within=20 the university, with an annual budget exceeding $117 = million. He=20 will oversee Northridge's nine colleges, its library, = academic=20 support units and central academic administrative offices.=20

Hellenbrand will take over the duties of Interim Provost = and Vice=20 President for Academic Affairs Linda Bain.=20

The new provost, in his sixth year as dean at Cal Poly = SLO, held=20 the same post at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, from = 1994 to=20 1998. He spent 12 years at CSU San Bernardino, beginning in = 1982 as=20 a professor of English and later serving three years as = associate=20 dean of humanities and four as English Department chair.=20

Hellenbrand's many accomplishments at Cal Poly include = rewriting=20 the campus' discrimination complaint process, overseeing its = College=20 of Liberal Arts' centennial campaign plan, instituting a=20 college-wide technology committee and plan, hiring many new = faculty,=20 designing the college Web site and initiating the funding of = student=20 research projects and travel.=20

After earning his bachelor's degree in English and = American=20 literature from Harvard College in 1975, Hellenbrand = received his=20 doctorate in modern thought and literature from Stanford = University=20 in 1980.=20

California State University, Northridge has 33,000 full- = and=20 part-time students and offers 61 bachelor's and 42 master's = degrees=20 as well as 28 education credential programs. Founded in = 1958, it is=20 the only four-year university in the San Fernando Valley and = the=20 fourth largest in the 23-campus CSU system. The university = serves as=20 the intellectual, economic and cultural heart of the Valley = and=20 beyond.=20

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Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Dean Joins = CSUN as=20 Campus' New Provost

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Dean Joins =
CSUN as=20 Campus' New Provost