California State University (CSU) Chancellor Mildred García has appointed Mary Ann Villarreal interim president of CSUDH. Villarreal currently serves as vice president for institutional excellence at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), a global membership organization dedicated to advancing the democratic purposes of higher education by promoting equity, innovation and educational excellence. She will begin her position on January 1, 2026, following the retirement of President Thomas A. Parham.
“I am thrilled Dr. Villarreal has agreed to return to the CSU to serve as interim president of CSU Dominguez Hills,” said Chancellor García. “She is equity-minded, student-focused and a champion of strategic innovation. I have every confidence that she will continue to be a principled leader, a compassionate presence and a devoted advocate for the CSU Dominguez Hills community through this time of transition.”
In August 2024, Villarreal joined AAC&U as its vice president for institutional excellence after five years as the University of Utah’s first vice president for equity, diversity and inclusion. Her work at AAC&U has focused on expanding scholarship around student success for today’s undergraduate populations and helping higher education leaders across the nation scale best practices that have been demonstrated to help achieve academic excellence.
Villarreal’s appointment as interim president of CSUDH marks a return to the CSU. She most recently served the CSU as a strategic consultant to the Office of the Chancellor, where she played a critical role in the development of the new systemwide strategic plan, CSU Forward. From 2014 to 2019, she was at CSU Fullerton, serving initially as director of strategic initiatives and university projects, ultimately serving as associate vice president of strategic initiatives. While at Fullerton, she played a leadership role in the development of two strategic plans and launched the President’s Commission on Equity and Inclusion faculty fellows award.
Villarreal has also served as associate dean of the Colorado Women’s College formerly located at the University of Denver and has held faculty roles in history at the University of Colorado Boulder and in a joint appointment in ethnic studies and history at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.
“I am excited by the opportunity to join CSU Dominguez Hills and the CSU in advancing their vital mission of serving California students in all the breadth and promise they bring,” Villarreal said. “As one of the most diverse campuses in the CSU system, Dominguez Hills is a vital anchor institution for the community it serves. A beacon of inclusivity, it inspires hope – both for the community and for higher education in California.”
Villarreal is a first-generation college graduate and a U.S. Air Force veteran. She earned a doctorate in history at Arizona State University and a bachelor’s degree in women’s studies at Mount Holyoke College.
Villarreal will serve in the position until the CSU Board of Trustees completes a national search for the university’s next regularly appointed president.
