Gonzalez, Alexander

Scope Note: Term of office: 1997-2003 Alexander Gonzalez was named interim president of CSUSM on June 25, 1997, eight days after founding president Bill W. Stacy announced his intention to depart. Gonzalez was named permanent president two years later.

During his tenure, the university celebrated its 10-year anniversary while Gonzalez oversaw the opening of several new buildings, including new classroom buildings for sciences and arts, the first on-campus student housing, and Clarke Field House for athletics.

Gonzalez departed on June 30, 2003 to become the president of Sacramento State, where he served until he retired in 2015. With 18 years between the two campuses, Gonzalez is one of the longest continuously serving presidents in the history of the CSU system. He also spent 18 years as a faculty member, department chair and provost at Fresno State, giving him almost four decades of total service to the CSU.

After serving in the Air Force, Gonzalez utilized the GI Bill to attend Pomona College, where he earned a history degree. He received a master’s and Ph.D. in psychology from UC Santa Cruz, and he spent a year at Stanford University as a post-doctoral fellow of the Ford Foundation and the National Research Council. He also attended Harvard Law School.

Gonzalez and his wife, Gloria, have two sons.

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