Provost Katherine Kantardjieff to retire

This message was sent to all faculty and staff on Monday, April 10, 2023.

Dear faculty and staff,

It is bittersweet that I announce our Provost Katherine Kantardjieff will be retiring at the end of the academic year after more than 34 years of service to the California State University system. Katherine joined CSUMB in July 2020 and led the university through a particularly challenging time during the COVID-19 pandemic. I want to thank her for a steadfast commitment to ensuring students and faculty had all the necessary resources to work remotely at the beginning of her tenure and for her leadership as we transitioned back to in-person services. As the chief academic officer, she has also been integral in the transition from one president to another in ensuring stability in Academic Affairs. 

This year, she has worked to tackle decreasing enrollment with key task forces and working groups that are creating clear action plans to increase access to higher education. She has been instrumental in moving our summer courses to stateside and in aligning orientation with registration for incoming first-year and transfer students. Katherine’s efforts will leave us in a strong position to move forward in the coming year.

Before joining CSUMB, Katherine served for nine years as the founding dean of the College of Science and Mathematics at CSU San Marcos, and she has also held appointments as a professor and chair of chemistry at California State Polytechnic University Pomona, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at CSU Fullerton. She has held leadership positions with the CSU Program for Education and Research in Biotechnology; the CSU Council on Ocean Affairs, Science and Technology; and the United States National Committee for Crystallography.

Dean Andrew Lawson has agreed to serve as interim provost effective July 1, 2023 while we prepare for a national search for a permanent provost. Andrew joined CSUMB in 2016 following 15 years as a faculty member and administrator at Fresno State University so has a wealth of experience within the CSU. He has led the charge in launching new programs that align emerging fields with student passion and regional needs in the areas of agriculture and engineering. Under his leadership, the College of Science has been successful in securing grants to support diversity in STEM fields and he has remained dedicated to enhancing facilities for student and faculty research. I believe you will find him to be a capable and steady leader in the interim.

Please join me again in thanking Katherine for her service to CSUMB and to the CSU throughout her career.

Vanya Quiñones
President
California State University, Monterey Bay