Mary A. Papazian '81, M.A. '83, Ph.D. '88

The California State University Board of Trustees appointed Bruin Mary A. Papazian as president of San Jose State University. A seasoned higher education leader with more than 25 years of teaching and administrative experience, Papazian served as the president of Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) in New Haven, Connecticut. She is the university’s 29th president and the third female president in its 159-year history.

Prior to her tenure at SCSU, Papazian was the provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs at Lehman College of the City University of New York. She also served as the dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Montclair State University in New Jersey, and associate dean of the College of Arts and Science at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. Papazian began her career in higher education at Oakland University, where she was an assistant, associate and tenured professor of English.

Born and raised in Southern California, Papazian is a three-time Bruin, earning a bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate from UCLA.

Read more here.