UC Berkeley Web Feature
BAS Vice Chancellor Horace Mitchell appointed president of CSU Bakersfield
BERKELEY – University of California, Berkeley, Vice Chancellor Horace Mitchell today (Thursday, March 20) accepted an offer to serve as president of California State University, Bakersfield.
Mitchell, 59, will officially begin working at Bakersfield on July 15.
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 Horace Mitchell (Peg Skorpinski photo) |
"I have absolutely enjoyed being here at Berkeley and I have said in the past that the only reason I would leave prior to retirement would be to become a university president," said Mitchell. "This is an excellent opportunity. Cal State Bakerfield is a growing campus with infinite possibilities, and the opportunity to serve as its president is an honor."
Mitchell has been vice chancellor of UC Berkeley's Businesses and Administrative Services unit since 1995. That position encompasses a wide range of responsibilities including oversight of athletics, campus police, human resources and the campus's business operations. It has an annual operating budget of $115 million and more than 1,100 full-time employees.
"I am very pleased for Horace. He is exceedingly well prepared for this wonderful opportunity," said Chancellor Robert M. Berdahl. "He has served as a faculty member, has been a vice chancellor for student affairs and a vice chancellor for business affairs, so he knows the university from many perspectives. He is a person of integrity and intelligence who reaches out to people and connects with them in a very special way. I believe he will be an outstanding president for Cal State Bakersfield. The Cal community will miss him."
Mitchell said he is looking forward to further strengthening CSU's Bakersfield's programs, enhancing its ties with the community, working in partnership with K-12 schools in the area, and ensuring that the campus's academic and research programs provide growing support to the region's economy.
Mitchell, a licensed psychologist who has taught in the campus's African American Studies department, has served as a role model for countless students. He also is credited with strengthening ties between the campus and local government and community leaders. Before coming to UC Berkeley, he served as vice chancellor of student affairs and campus life at UC Irvine.
CSU press release: CSU Trustees Appoint UC Berkeley Administrator as California State University, Bakersfield President