Alexander Gonzalez

Alexander Gonzalez (born September , 1945) was the 11th president of California State University, Sacramento (Sacramento State), serving from July , 2003 to June , 2015, after having held administrative positions at two other California State University campuses. His academic career began in 1983 as a professor of psychology at California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) for four years, followed by three years chairing that department, one as assistant to the president, and culminating in six years as the university's provost (from 1991–1997). He was named Interim President of California State University, San Marcos on June , 1997 as the California State University Board of Trustees rushed to respond to the sudden announcement of that institution's founding president's intention to depart only eight days earlier. Gonzalez was eventually rewarded with a permanent appointment to the position more than a year later after an exhaustive search of potential candidates, with the trustees saying "he earned it the old-fashioned way–through dedication and hard work.” Education After completing high school, his service in the United States Air Force from 1963–67 allowed him to utilize the G.I. Bill to earn his undergraduate degree in history at Pomona College, where he graduated with honors and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. His master's and doctorate degrees in psychology are from University of California, Santa Cruz, where his mentor was Elliot Aronson. After graduate school, he spent a year at Stanford University as a postdoctoral fellow of the Ford Foundation and the National Research Council conducting research on the psychology of time. He also attended Harvard Law School. Awards and recognition In 2007, he was inducted into East Los Angeles' Garfield High School's Hall of Fame. In 2008, he was named Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce Community Honoree and the following year he was recognized as Businessman of the Year by the Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. In October 2012, President Gonzalez was awarded the Ohtli Award by the Mexican Government, the highest cultural honor for those of Mexican descent.