The First Woman President of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

The board of trustees of California State University has appointed Soraya M. Coley as the next president of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. When she takes office by the beginning of 2015, she will be the sixth president of the university and the first woman to hold the position. Cal Poly Pomona enrolls about 21,000 undergraduate students and about 1,500 graduate students. Women make up 43 percent of the undergraduate student body.

Dr. Coley currently serves as provost and vice president for academic affairs at California State University, Bakersfield. Earlier in her career, she served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Alliant International University and as dean of the College of Human Development and Community Service at California State University, Fullerton.

Dr. Coley is a graduate of The Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, where she majored in sociology. She holds a master’s degree in social planning and social work and a Ph.D. in social planning and policy from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania.