Cal State San Marcos President Karen Haynes announced Tuesday that she will retire next summer.

Haynes, who began serving as CSUSM’s president in 2004, is the longest- tenured president in the university’s history. Under her leadership, the school’s population bloomed from more then 7,000 in 2004 to its current 17,000. The alumni base has also increased substantially in that time, from 13,000 to 45,000.

“As CSUSM approaches the close of its first major philanthropic campaign, and given its strong position as a forward-focused institution, it seemed to be an appropriate time for `First Gentleman’ Jim Mickelson and me to consider our future,” Haynes said in a statement. “After much reflection, I have decided to retire as president of Cal State San Marcos — and Jim as founding director of (CSUSM’s) ACE Scholars Services — effective June 30, 2019.”

The San Marcos campus has added 15 new buildings and more than 100 academic programs since 2004, and the school’s Extended Learning Building opens next fall. Haynes pushed for the transition of the school’s athletic program from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics to NCAA Division II in 2017 and launched the school’s Forward Together campaign in 2015, with the aim of raising $50 million by the end of 2018.

“President Haynes’ focus on student achievement has been a constant during an unprecedented period of growth and transition at Cal State San Marcos,” said CSU Chancellor Timothy P. White. “Under her stewardship, academic programs, facilities and athletics have all improved and expanded. Enrollment has more than doubled, and the campus now provides opportunities for a high quality education for 14,000 students coming from the greater San Diego, Riverside and Orange counties.”

Since joining the CSU system, Haynes has also served as a board member on the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, and chaired both the CSU Commission on the Extended University and the CSU Program for Education and Research in Biotechnology.

A nationwide search will be conducted for her replacement. White and Adam Day, chair of the CSU Board of Trustees, will announce a selection committee comprised of campus stakeholders at a future date.

— City News Service 

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