Long Beach State President Jane Close Conoley officially announced Oct. 8 that Mary Ann Takemoto has been promoted to Interim Vice President of Student Affairs.
The decision came after the university placed Vice President Carmen Taylor on leave on Tuesday, Oct. 2, the same day that former Associated Students Inc. employee Jamie Williams was officially charged with two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.
University Police Detective Christopher Brown said an investigation about Williams and Taylor is currently underway. Takemoto could not elaborate on why Taylor was placed on leave because it is a “personnel matter.”
However, Takemoto has already hit the ground running in the position with a plan.
“My plan is to continue to move our Division of Student Affairs forward with all of the initiatives we already have going and in place,” Takemoto said. “I think we have a great team of professionals in our division and they’re all working on a number of initiatives and programs.”
One of Takemoto’s major goals is to keep the partnerships going between students, Associated Students Inc. and her division, as she believes the only way to reach success is to continue the “collaborative work” that has kept the campus running.
Conoley directly asked Takemoto to take on the job following the separation of Taylor and the campus. Takemoto described doing so as “an honor.”
“I’ve been part of this campus since 2005, so I am familiar with the campus and familiar with our administrators, so I’m hoping this will be a seamless transition into this role,” Takemoto said.