FULLERTON : Search Under Way for Cobb’s Successor

A nationwide search to replace retiring Cal State Fullerton President Jewel Plummer Cobb will be complete by next May, according to Cal State University Trustee William Campbell of Newport Beach, who has been named to chair the search committee.

Campbell said 150 to 200 candidates from throughout the nation are expected to apply for the chief executive post at Cal State Fullerton. The campus, with 25,000 students, is the sixth largest in the 20-university Cal State system.

“We are looking for somebody with the prerequisite academic background, management experience and national experience,” Campbell said Thursday. “It’s a wonderful job.”

Cal State trustees Anthony Vitti, also of Newport Beach, and Claudia Hampton of Los Angeles also will take part in the executive search. A Cal State University president still to be named also will sit on the committee, along with Cal State Fullerton representatives from the Academic Senate, the Alumni Assn., the student government and the campus advisory board.

Campbell said candidates for the position are likely to include up to 25 sitting presidents of major U.S. universities. Through a series of interviews and campus visits, the applicants will be narrowed down to four or five recommended candidates, and the full Cal State board of trustees will make a final selection.

No salary has been set for the post, but it is expected to fall between $88,000 and $119,000, the current salary range for CSU presidents. Cobb is paid $111,273 and lives in the El Dorado Ranch, a private residence that was donated to the university earlier this year.

Cobb, 65, announced last week that she will retire July 31 after eight years as president of the Fullerton campus. She said she plans to write books and articles on higher education issues, and will remain active in academia and on several corporate boards.