By Amber Hair

Erika Beck, president of CSU Channel Islands, has been appointed to a new role as the president of CSU Northridge.

Beck, who has led CSUCI since she took over for founding president Dick Rush in 2016, will be assuming her new role at CSUN on Jan. 11, 2021. CSU Chancellor Timothy White will announce an interim president soon, and the CSU Board of Trustees expects to start looking for candidates to replace Beck in the new year.

During her time at CSUCI, which is located just outside of Camarillo, Beck has guided the campus through expansion. The school’s four-year graduation rate reached an all-time high, and last year, CSUCI was recognized as one of nine schools in the country with the Seal of Excelencia for the success of its Latinx students.

“While it is bittersweet to leave CSU Channel Islands where working together with faculty, staff, students and community we have made significant progress, I am thankful for this opportunity to join the talented CSUN faculty, staff and students to ensure that all Matadors rise,” Beck said in an Oct. 29 news release.

In a message to the CSUCI Foundation Board, Vice President for University Advancement Nichole Ipach said the school is creating a plan to honor and celebrate Beck’s accomplishments.

“Her leadership over the last four years has been nothing short of incredible,” Ipach wrote.