CSU Channel Islands (CI) Welcomes New President, Erika D. Beck, Ph.D.

Erika D. Beck was appointed by the CSU Board of Trustees on March 9, 2016 as the second president of California State University Channel Islands (CI). She started her new job this week and I had a chance to meet her.

There's a positive energy to Dr. Beck, who relocated here from Henderson, Nevada, where she served as Provost and Executive Vice President at Nevada State College (NSC) for six years.

As a mother of two young, active boys, she was excited to learn more about the abundance of fun things to do here in the Ventura County area. But in the meantime, she will be quite busy getting up to speed at CI.

During her tenure at NSC, Dr. Beck had the unique opportunity to build a campus from the ground up and help establish the first middle tier, public institution in the state of Nevada. Prior to her role as Provost, Dr. Beck served as the Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences, a psychology faculty member, and the founding Faculty Senate Chair.

Through her leadership, NSC opened in 2002 with 177 students and rapidly expanded to more than 3,500 students 13 years later. A leader committed to inclusivity, NSC became a Minority Serving Institution, an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution, and an Emerging Hispanic Serving Institution during her tenure as Provost.

A native Californian, President Beck holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, San Diego, a M.A. in Psychology from San Diego State University and a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from the University of California, San Diego where she also served as a faculty fellow. A former Research Associate at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, she has conducted research in the areas of developmental psychopathology and cognitive neuroscience. In addition to her formal education, she is actively engaged in the national dialogue regarding inclusive excellence and the use of data to improve student learning outcomes.

About California State University Channel Islands
CI is the only four-year, public university in Ventura County and is known for its interdisciplinary, multicultural and international perspectives, and its emphasis on experiential and service learning. CI’s strong academic programs focus on business, sciences, liberal studies, teaching credentials, and innovative master’s degrees. Students benefit from individual attention, up-to-date technology, and classroom instruction augmented by outstanding faculty research. CI has been designated by the U.S. Department of Education as a Hispanic-Serving Institution and is committed to serving students of all backgrounds from the region and beyond. Learn more about the university at www.csuci.edu.