President, California State University – Northridge

Beck became the sixth president of CSUN in January 2021, succeeding Dianne Harrison, who retired after eight years in the post. This year, construction is set to begin on a $50 million tech innovation hub on the campus to prepare Latinos and other historically underrepresented students for technology sector jobs; the hub is slated to open in 2024. Before taking the helm at CSUN, Beck served four years as president of California State University – Channel Islands. A native Californian, Beck was a research associate at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and has conducted research in developmental psychopathology and cognitive neuroscience.

YEARS ON THE LA500: 2