Meet the Administrator: Spotlight on Callie Juarez, Senior Director of Academic Resources and Planning

How long have you been at CSUN, and what was the path that brought you here?  
I’ve been here for 11 years, and I was one of those lucky people—while I went to Sonoma State University, I was the assistant to the person there, Katie Pierce, the budget officer for Academic Affairs. who was doing the job I do here now. My major was psychology, so I never planned on this sort of role, but out of college, I decided to come home to Ventura. California State University Channel Islands was just starting up and looking for people. I was hired as a faculty coordinator, what we call here development coordinator, then saw the opportunity at CSUN—which was great because I could stay in Ventura county—and came here. In June 2024, my previous boss retired and I took over her duties.

What is your role as you and the Provost approach budget planning for 2025?  
For CSUN, and also the Cal State University (CSU) system, we use a historical incremental budget process, which means we start with the previous year’s budget and incrementally change it, depending on the needs of our colleges and library. In these times, of course, we’re really asking, “Where can we reduce our costs?”

Usually we make adjustments based simply on faculty hires and retention. But this year, Provost Komarraju and the CFO, Colin Donahue, decided we needed to speak to all of the colleges and the library. Se we created town halls and invited faculty and staff. We had great attendance. We were able to really learn what the departments need, and get to know their concerns. The Provost has a very big portfolio, and this is an important piece of it. That’s what I help her with.

What drew you to CSUN?
Well, the reality in the CSU system is that the only way to get promoted is by hopping campuses. I went from the smallest campus in the system to the largest, and I liked that challenge. CSUN has its own culture and way of doing things, and I’ve enjoyed it since the first day I got here. I also feel I’m sort of a back-of-the-house person, and I like being behind the scenes and figuring things out.

I will say that coming from a very small campus, I learned to be very resourceful, and knew I had to call other campuses to see how things were done. One eye opener was starting an art department, and having to figure out where to get models for the classes. I called CSUN for that one.  

Do you think your major, Psychology, helps you in your job?
I work with people, and learning what makes them tick and enjoy what they do fascinates me. But I think all three of my degrees help me. I have my Psych degree, which helps me learn about how people’s minds work. Then the Master’s in Public Administration, of course, is about understanding policies and processes, then the Ed.D. is in higher education leadership, which is exactly what I do now. They are all in the social sciences, but I like that my education is not linear.  

In what ways have the town hall meetings helped you with this year’s budget process?
Obviously, we are dealing with inflation, and at the department level it means they are not getting all of the supplies they need. A chemistry professor gave us a great document that illustrated the cost increases and what they had to do to manage them. Being able to get an understanding of those things helps. So we are now working on a proposal in which we can take our allocations and possibly distribute them a bit differently and make sure the students are getting what they need.

This model of transparency also presents challenges, right? What are they?
We in Academic Affairs try not to get over-involved with each college’s budget process and management. So there might be instances something is brought up in a town hall meeting that we didn’t know about. That can be tricky. And if a college is having financial difficulty, that can be a tough conversation to have in a meeting. But the process helps us evaluate and solve the issues.

And the Provost’s focus is always on moving the needle. So if we see a proposal that’s dedicated to student success, retention and graduation, she will entertain those proposals and put money behind them if possible.

So what keeps you going?
From my perspective, we have the best team on campus, with the goal of making the business operations side efficient and effective. The students may never see what I do, but I know what I’m doing is trying to make sure that they can get their classes, that they can graduate in a timely manner, and that they can have a community here at CSUN. And that is what keeps me going.

To follow the CSUN 2025 budget process, go to csun.edu/afvp/budget.