Cal State Bakersfield’s (CSUB) new president, Lynnette Zelezny, was appointed by the California State University Board on March 21. Zelezny, a current provost and vice president at Fresno State, will be taking the place of Horace Mitchell at CSUB. Mitchell is scheduled to retire at the end of this 2018 school year.

Zelezny’s career at Fresno State started in 1988, and since then she has served in many positions for the school. She has been an associate provost, dean and associate vice president for Continuing and Global Education, associate dean for the Craig School of Business, and chair of the psychology department. Zelezny was also a lecturer, assistant professor, associate professor, and professor for the Fresno State psychology department. Since 2014, however, she has been provost and vice president of academic affairs.

Although Zelezny is the fifth president of CSUB, she is the first woman to be appointed to this position.

“CSUB provides an excellent education for its students, affording them, their families, and indeed the entire Kern community, the opportunity for a vastly better future,” Zelezny said in a statement provided by CSUB. “I look forward to engaging with the CSUB campus community and university supporters in making that outstanding educational experience even more accessible,” she added.