Leroy Morishita, the Board of Trustees chair of the Institute of Buddhist Studies (IBS), has been named interim president of Cal State Los Angeles.
He has been an IBS trustee since 2008 and a longtime member of the Berkeley Buddhist Temple along with his wife, Barbara Hedani-Morishita, and their two sons, Kyle and Derek.
The appointment, announced March 23, was made by Interim Chancellor Jolene Koester of the CSU. Morishita will begin the job on July 31, and will serve until a new president is appointed by the CSU Board of Trustees.
“I am excited to formally return to the CSU and to be part of a vibrant, dynamically diverse and student-centered university like Cal State LA,'' Morishita said. “I look forward to working with the extraordinarily talented faculty, staff and administrators to continue providing transformative educational opportunities for Cal State LA's students.''
“Dr. Morishita is an extraordinary leader who, over a long and distinguished career, demonstrated an unwavering commitment to inclusive excellence, innovative student-success initiatives and to educational equity in all its dimensions,'' Koester said. “His more than 40 years of experience in leadership positions across the CSU, including his highly successful tenure as president of California State University, East Bay, will serve him well in this role.''
Morishita was president of California State University, East Bay, in Hayward from 2011 to 2020. He previously worked at San Francisco State University for nearly 30 years in a number of positions, including executive vice president of administration and finance, and chief financial officer.
Morishita most recently served the CSU in a consulting role, participating in a workgroup formed by Koester to identify a multi-year strategy to achieve stable and predictable revenues for the CSU.
He earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from UC Berkeley, a master's degree in counseling at San Francisco State University, and a doctorate of education from Harvard University in administration, planning and social policy.
Cal State Los Angeles' current president, William Covino, announced his retirement in August 2022, effective at the end of July.