Brian Jersky Named New Provost

Published January 4, 2016

CSULB will have a new leader of its academic programs July 1st as the university selected Brian Jersky as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs.

The provost serves as the university’s second-in-command administrator and senior academic official.

“Dr. Brian Jersky has impeccable academic credentials and a deep commitment to student success. I am excited he will be our next provost,” said President Jane Close Conoley. “I’m confident Dr. Jersky will advance our university by developing innovative ways to encourage and support faculty and students in their aspirations for excellence.”

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Jersky joins CSULB after spending four years as dean of Cal Poly Pomona’s College of Science. He previously was a senior lecturer in the Statistics Department at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, and dean of the School of Science at Saint Mary’s College of California. Jersky spent 15 years at Sonoma State University serving in a variety of capacities including assistant professor of mathematics, chair of mathematics and director of Academic Planning and Resources in the School of Science and Technology.

He began his career at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he earned bachelor of science degrees in mathematical statistics/economics and mathematical statistics. He went on to earn an M.S and Ph.D. in statistics from Cornell University.

Jersky will replace interim Provost David Dowell, who joined the campus in 1977 as a psychology faculty member and subsequently held a variety of academic leadership positions before announcing that he will retire at the end of this academic year. During Dowell’s tenure as provost, CSULB reached all-time highs in both graduation rates and the number of students earning degrees annually.

Written by Anne Ambrose