Gov. Jerry Brown has appointed another member to the Cal State University Board of Trustees, his third appointment in less than two weeks.
New appointee, James “Larry” Norton, is from San Rafael and is a member of the Marin County School Volunteers, according to the governor’s announcement. He has yet to be approved by State Senate.
Norton also served as vice president at the Institute for Medical Sciences at the California Pacific Medical Center for four years, as the director of development and community relations at Dominican University for six years and as an intelligence analyst at the United States Central Intelligence Agency for seven years.
“Mr. Norton brings a broad background of experience to his role as trustee,” CSULB Provost Donald J. Para said via email. “CSULB welcomes Mr. Norton to the Board and looks forward to working with him to advance the critical importance of the CSU in the future of our state and nation.”
Norton’s appointment was announced July 16, just 10 days after Brown revealed that Lupe Garcia and Hugo Morales had also been selected for the Board.
All of the appointments require confirmation by the State Senate, but CSU Spokesman Erik Fallis said the trustees may serve on the Board for up to a year without confirmation.
Fallis also said that even though a trustee’s experience within the CSU may not be immediately apparent, many of the trustees have a connection to the CSU, such as being alumni of the 23-campus system.
“They don’t get money for doing this,” Fallis said. “Usually, individuals who volunteer for this have some reason that they are deeply passionate about the CSU.”
None of the 25 trustees on the Board are paid, with the exceptions of the Chancellor and the faculty trustee.
While Garcia has served in multiple positions at Gap Inc. since 1999 and earned a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of San Francisco School of Law, Morales was an adjunct lecturer of the La Raza Studies Program at CSU Fresno from 1976 to 1979.
The various backgrounds of the trustees can assist the Board when making difficult decisions, Fallis said.
“We rely on the unique perspective of all of our trustees,” Fallis said. “For example, if we were to face another $250 million in state support, it helps to have that business perspective.”
Three seats on the Board still need to be filled, including two eight-year term trustees and a student trustee.