President of CSUN to Retire After 23 Years : Education: James W. Cleary is the third top official to announce plans to leave the university.

James W. Cleary, who over two decades guided the growth of Cal State Northridge from a small, mostly white commuter campus to a bustling university for 31,000 ethnically diverse students, announced Thursday he will retire as the university’s president next July.

In a letter to California State University Chancellor Barry Munitz, Cleary said he is pleased to have watched the university grow since 1969 from a “young, troubled institution to one of national and international acclaim.”

But he said he feels it is “highly appropriate that a new president be appointed to assist the university in its move toward the 21st Century.”

Cleary becomes the third top administrator to announce plans to leave the university in recent months.

Edmund Peckham, 67, dean of students for 24 years and vice president of student affairs for the last seven years, will retire this month.

Bob Suzuki, vice president of academic affairs since 1985, resigned in May to become president of Cal Poly Pomona.

Cleary, 64, has served as the university’s president since it was known as Valley State College, the name it was given when it was founded in 1958. The school’s status was boosted by a name change in June, 1972, when all of California’s state colleges became state universities.

During his tenure, Cleary has seen the CSUN profile change from that of a commuter campus to more of a residential university. As of this fall, about 10% of its students lived on campus, more than at any other school in the state university system.

He also has seen CSUN’s sports program move from the National Collegiate Athletic Assn.’s Division II to Division I, and he has seen the university’s academic programs earn national honors.

Cleary leaves the university during a period of continued growth. Within 10 years, CSUN plans to build a sports stadium, science and technology center and theatrical and music halls.

Cleary came to CSUN in June, 1969, from the University of Wisconsin, where he was vice chancellor for academic affairs.

His successor will be chosen by Cal State University trustees after a nationwide search.