California taps Jones as president
The acting president of California University of Pennsylvania was promoted to the school’s top post Thursday by the board of governors of the state System of Higher Education.
While naming Geraldine M. Jones as Cal U. president was applauded by the chairman of the university’s board of trustees, it was met with reservation by the union faculty, which was considering a no-confidence vote in the trustees and top administrators of the school.
“It’s been a long, difficult process,” Cal U. board of trustees President Larry Maggi said Thursday, adding that Jones has carried on as an interim president for the last four years.
“We thought she did a good job during the time she was there,” said Maggi, who also is chairman of Washington County board of commissioners. “She didn’t ask to be acting president or interim president. She filled those roles. You could say she’s been on a four-year interview, so to speak.”
Jones will be paid $245,000 for her first year as president, state system spokesman Kenn Marshall said.
The decision to promote Jones did not follow the recommendation of the presidential search committee after it forwarded two names to the trustees last week, and Jones was not one of them. The trustees chose instead to recommend Jones to be hired by the board of governors, along with the name of a university administrator in Florida.
“It’s no secret that California University faculty members were on the verge of a no-confidence vote in the leadership at their university,” said Kenneth M. Mash, president of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties, which represents professors at the 14 state system universities.
“We wish Geraldine Jones well as the newly appointed Cal U. president, but we remain concerned about the leadership at California University, and we continue to have questions about the search process.”
Jones was named Cal U.’s acting president in May 2012 after the previous president, Angelo Armenti, was fired. Jones had previously served for nearly four years as provost and vice president for academic affairs. She first came to the university in 1974 as director of its Upward Bound program.
“California University has been my lifetime passion,” Jones said. “Since my first days on campus as a student, it has been a special place to me. I have dedicated my professional career to the university, and look forward to continuing to work on its behalf and on behalf of the students, faculty and staff to do the best I can to help ensure Cal U.’s success long into the future.”
She also was praised Thursday by the chairman of the board of governors.
“Geraldine Jones has provided more than four decades of extraordinary service to California University of Pennsylvania,” said Board of Governors Chairman Guido M. Pichini. “She has led the institution through extremely challenging times as acting, then interim, president.
“We are confident she will continue to provide the university – her alma mater – the same level of service and leadership she has in the past, and will guide it to even greater success in the future.”
Jones has said she’s made difficult decisions by furloughing employees, eliminating jobs through attrition and making reductions in departmental spending as the school struggled to balance budgets while enrollment continued to drop to below 8,000 students.
Jones said it’s an honor to be named Cal U. president.
“My management team and I are passionate about Cal U. and committed to embracing its future with optimism and a spirit of innovation,” she said.
Maggi said he was relieved that a president had been seated at Cal U.
“It’s very difficult, especially with what’s going on at the state level with higher education, what’s been going on with the budget and declining enrollment. The demographic of potential students has declined. We don’t have as many high school seniors as we used to,” Maggi said.
Assistant Editor Linda Ritzer and Staff Writer Barbara S. Miller contributed to this report.