CSU picks Cal State Monterey president

The California State University Board of Trustees appointed Peter Smith as the first president of Cal State Monterey Bay on Friday morning.

Located on the recently closed Fort Ord Army base, CSU Monterey Bay will be the 21st campus in the CSU system, when it opens in fall 1995.

"I am very excited about the future of the Monterey Bay campus with Peter at the helm," CSU Chancellor Barry Munitz said. "The critical, military-base conversion process will be entrusted to a visionary leader who will blend educational planning with political savvy."

Before his appointment, Smith was dean of the School of Education and Human Development at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Prior to that, he was a senior fellow at the American Council on Education. Smith was also the founder and first president of the Community College of Vermont.

Smith has a background in politics; he was Vermont's lieutenant governor from 1982-86, and he served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1989-90.

Smith graduated from Princeton and then went on to Harvard, where he earned his master's degree and doctorate in administration, planning and social policy.

"Dr. Smith's special strengths will be a definite asset for the new campus," said Jim Considine, CSU Board of Trustees chairman. "I compliment the search committee for bringing us strong candidates to interview. Peter's background and vision for the future is why the trustees enthusiastically support him for the founding president."

Smith will assume the campus presidency on Jan. 1, 1995.