The First Woman President in the 129-Year History of California State University, Chico

The California State University Board of Trustees has selected Gayle E. Hutchinson as the next president of California State University, Chico. She will be the first woman president in the 129-year history of the Chico campus.

The Chico campus, in central northern California, enrolls more than 16,000 undergraduates and 1,200 graduate students. Women are 52 percent of the undergraduate student body.

Dr. Hutchinson, who will take office on July 1, currently serves as provost and vice president for academic affairs at California State University, Channel Islands. She has held that post since 2013. Earlier in her career, Dr. Hutchinson taught for 17 years in the department of kinesiology at California State University, Chico. She also chaired the kinesiology department and was dean of the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences.

Dr. Hutchinson is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where she majored in physical education. She earned a master’s degree from Teachers College of Columbia University and an educational doctorate at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.