When Jane Close Conoley arrived in Long Beach 10 years ago to run California State University, Long Beach as president, she had one priority: students come first.
And she had plenty of students to educate at one of the largest and most diverse campuses in the California State University system. When she became the first woman to serve as CSULB president in 2014, the university enrolled about 35,500 students.
This semester the university enrolled 41,300 students.
“I was sort of blown away by the number of students at The Beach, but I saw a great opportunity to help them and also to learn from them,” Conoley told me last week in an interview following her announcement to retire next June. I talked with her by phone while she and her husband, Collie, were in San Francisco dog-sitting while her son and his family were away.
She called Long Beach “a beautiful place” with hardworking students, excellent faculty members and administrators and a community filled with officials and residents willing to help the university.
“I’ve immensely enjoyed being part of this community, and I am so proud of all we’ve done together,” she said.
I asked her what she thought her legacy was.
“In addition to helping to educate students, I would like to be remembered as a person who showed up wherever people gathered, whether at athletic events, faculty meetings, campus events or events in the community,” she said. “I didn’t want to just stay in the bubble of the university. I wanted to get around all over as much as I could and connect with the community. That has been my mission.”
She has achieved that mission.
CSULB has undergone significant changes during Conoley’s tenure, including a growth in student population, additional revenue brought in during major fundraising campaigns and creation of multiple student housing facilities, the university said in announcing her retirement.
CSU Chancellor Mildred Garcia said, thanks in large part to Conoley’s leadership, CSULB “has strengthened its position as a powerhouse of social mobility, a beacon of inclusive excellence and a true anchor institution for the region.”
Conoley guided the university through the pandemic, including the start of virtual labs and a laptop and internet hotspot loan program to support remote coursework. During her tenure, the university also has earned prestigious distinctions , including recognition as a high-research R2 institution and a seal of excellence for its service to Latino students. CSULB also was named a Center for Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation during her leadership.
Conoley also complimented the groundbreaking research work of Dr. Rashida Crutchfield in revealing the number of students with housing and food insecurities.
“When I arrived here, I was astounded to read about Rashida’s research. It hit me like a thunderbolt, and I asked her to continue her great work,” Conoley said. That has led to programs helping students through housing and food problems and national recognition for the university.
Conoley said she was also proud of the four-year graduation rate increasing from about 15 percent when she arrived to 37 percent now. The graduation rate after 4 ½ years is 54 percent, she said.
Conoley said she was proud that CSULB is no longer what she called “a second choice” school.
“Many students used to use CSULB as a second choice, or safety school, if they couldn’t get into their first choice school,” she said. “Now, CSULB is a first choice school.”
One of her saddest moments in her presidency, she said, occurred when Nohemi Gonzalez, a 23-year-old design student, was among those killed in terrorist attacks in Paris in 2015. Gonzalez was part of an international exchange program when she was killed while eating at a restaurant. More than 120 were killed, and hundreds were injured.
“This senseless murder was our worst nightmare,” Conoley said.
There have been some low points during her tenure.
One of the most significant issues erupted in October, 2023, when nearly 200 students gathered on campus to protest Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip days after Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel.
Despite controversy on the different arguments which ensued, Conoley reaffirmed that students had the right to protest on campus.
During another pro-Palestinian protest on CSULB’s campus in March, Conoley issued a statement supporting peaceful demonstrations and asked protestors to focus on “the human experience of the ongoing war” on both sides of the conflict.
Another controversy happened in 2019 when attorneys representing the Juaneno Band of Mission Indians, Acjachemen Nation, filed a lawsuit against the university for allegedly wanting to build on Puyungna, a 22-acre site considered sacred to California’s indigenous Gabrielino-Tongva tribe and other native communities. The university also was accused of dumping soil and construction debris on the site.
The two sides have reached a settlement with the university agreeing to land-use restrictions for Puvungna.
“I think we’re in a good place now on this issue,” Conoley said. “Initially, I talked to some people who wanted a ceremonial center built on that land. What I didn’t realize was that there was disagreement on this from others. I didn’t ask enough questions. I should have known better.”
Another issue involved complaints about Prospector Pete, the school’s 49ers mascot, a reference to 1949 when the university was founded. People protesting Prospector Pete said the mascot represented the state’s history of racism against Native Americans and others during the Gold Rush period.
In 2018 Prospector Pete was retired as the university’s mascot.
At the time, Conoley said, “As our diversity grew and more voices were heard, we came to know that the 1849 California gold rush was a time in history when the indigenous peoples of California endured subjugation, violence and threats of genocide. Today, the spirit of inclusivity is reflected in our students, faculty, staff, alumni and community. Today’s Beach is not connected to that era.”
Throughout her career, Conoley said she has tried to use her background in psychology to settle disagreements in an agreeable way.
“The insidious effects of low and high expectations concern me greatly,” she has written. “Our expectations greatly affect how we make meaning out of situations. If you think I’ll be cooperative and respectful, I am inspired to be just that. On the other hand, if you expect me to be defiant or scornful, I might adopt that attitude.”
Conoley said she is “absolutely optimistic” about CSULB’s future, but she sees some “headwinds,” ahead, including lack of enough funding from the state, aging buildings that need repairs or replacement and a decline in student population as the birth rate declines. She said faculty members need higher pay and student tuition needs to remain as low as possible.
“There will be bumps along the road and it won’t be easy, but there are great people at work here, and they will do well.”
What will Conoley do in her retirement?
She said spending time with her grandkids, traveling with her husband and reading sci-fi books were at the top of her list.
Conoley said her last commencement in June will be very emotional for her.
“At last year’s commencement, as students received their diplomas, one of the deans asked me if that didn’t make me feel proud,” Conoley said. “I said, ‘Yes, it does. It’s what I work and live for. Commencement day is the happiest day of the year for me. At my last commencement next year I will savor every minute.”