Dear Campus Community,
In the four weeks I have had the privilege of serving as your President, I have learned so much about your hopes, dreams and aspirations for the future in my discussions with students, faculty and staff. Throughout these meetings, I have heard a clear expression of the values of equity and inclusion and a deep pride in CSUN’s rich history of advancing racial and social justice. I am committed to continuing to advance this legacy by strengthening an equitable and inclusive campus environment.
While my listening tour continues, your thoughts regarding the opportunities and challenges on the horizon have already convinced me of the urgent need to amplify and advance this work, now. As a result, I have engaged a highly respected student success innovator to assist in an assessment of our infrastructure, programs and resources designed to empower and support the achievements of our students.
On February 22, 2021, Dr. Amanda Quintero, who currently serves as the Associate Vice Provost for Student Success and Equity Initiatives at CSUCI, will join the CSUN community as the Special Assistant to the President for Inclusive Excellence. Dr. Quintero will serve as a member of Cabinet and will work with faculty, staff and students across the university to assess and strengthen equity and inclusion efforts. She will collaborate with a wide range of constituencies across the University to accelerate our institutional strategy for fostering a sense of belonging, improving retention and closing equity gaps for all students and employees.
Dr. Quintero brings to this role over 20 years of experience leading institutional change initiatives that build capacity to advance educational equity and student success, including developing culturally relevant and responsive practices, fostering a culture of inclusive excellence, and leading cross-divisional teams that improve student outcomes. A powerful advocate of educational opportunity for historically underrepresented students, Dr. Quintero has helped facilitate historic gains in student success and secured over $30 million in grant funding to support these efforts.
The daughter of immigrant parents and a first-generation college graduate, Dr. Quintero’s lived experiences helped her to become an innovative, inclusive and equity-minded leader. Her work traverses the public service sector and higher education as she has led and evaluated programs at the campus, system, statewide and national level. She has served as an Executive Fellow in the Governor’s Office on Service & Volunteerism, faculty lecturer in Chicana/o Studies, and as Council President for the Alliance of Hispanic Serving Institutions Educators. The quality of her work is widely recognized, as she is regularly called upon for her expertise through the U.S. Department of Education Hispanic Serving Institution Division, Excelencia in Education, and the Foundation for Student Success.
Dr. Quintero holds a B.A. in Global Studies from CSU Monterey Bay, M.A. in Public Policy & Administration from CSU Long Beach, and a Ph.D. in Education with an emphasis in Policy, Evaluation, and Reform from Claremont Graduate University.
Please join me in welcoming Dr. Quintero to the CSUN community.
Sincerely, ERIKA D. BECK, PH.D. President California State University, Northridge 18111 Nordhoff Street Northridge, CA 91330-8230 (818) 677-2121 president.beck@csun.edu
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