Cal State University – Long Beach, President

Conoley was named Cal State – Long Beach’s seventh president and first woman leader in 2014. The university, which was founded in 1949, had 33,000 undergraduate students enrolled as of last fall and ranks 64th among top public schools, per U.S. News & World Report. It offers more than 190 academic programs in eight colleges. She previously held leadership posts at UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, Texas A&M University and the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Conoley’s primary academic interest is interventions with children with disabilities. She participates on numerous Long Beach City and regional boards concerned with education, homelessness and economic development.

YEARS ON THE LA500: 6