Dr. Charles B. Reed
Chancellor,
California State University (CSU) System

Dr. Charles Reed has been the chancellor of the California State University (CSU) System since 1998.  He provides leadership to 46,000 faculty and staff, and almost 450,000 students on 23 campuses and 7 off-campus centers. California's oldest public higher education institution belongs to CSU, which spans the entire state of California. Its annual budget is more than $5 billion.

 Soon after he became chancellor, Reed launched an initiative to recruit and retain more minority students in the university system. He began by visiting California high schools with large minority populations and was astonished at how little students knew about how to get into college. Under Reed’s leadership, CSU is working with K-12 schools, and particularly high schools, to ensure that all students have access to a college prep curriculum and are aware of the steps it takes to apply to college.

In recent years, the number of applications from African American students has risen and so has their enrollment. In the fall of 2007, for instance, enrollment of African American students at CSU was up 6.5 percent over the previous year. Hispanic student enrollment has increased by 9.5 percent and the enrollment of Native American students is up by 8.2 percent. As a result, 12.5 percent of CSU applicants now are African American; 15 percent are Hispanic; and 12 percent are Asian American.

Before his appointment as the chancellor of CSU, Reed held many other prestigious positions in the field of education.  He was the chancellor of the State University System of Florida for 13 years, the director of educational planning for the Florida Department of Education, the director of a national project for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, as well as an associate professor of education at The George Washington University.  He also served as the chief of staff in the executive office of the governor of Florida. 

Reed obtained a B.S. in health and physical education, an M.S. in secondary education and an Ed.D. in teacher education from The George Washington University.  He has received honorary doctorates from six accredited universities, including The George Washington University and Florida State University.