CSUSB Palm Desert Campus Dean Fred Jandt to retire

Fred Jandt, who has served as the dean of Cal State San Bernardino’s Palm Desert Campus since August 2003 and has been largely responsible for the campus’s tremendous growth over the past decade, announced that he is retiring Jan. 31.

“Fred Jandt has been a remarkable asset for CSUSB and our Palm Desert Campus,” said Cal State San Bernardino President Tomás D. Morales. “The PDC has elevated into one of the gems of the California State University system, thanks to his tireless efforts. We are grateful for all that he has done to build the campus and transform the state of higher education in the Coachella Valley.”

“I would like to express my appreciation to my predecessors Catharine Gannon and Peter Wilson, as well as former Cal State San Bernardino presidents Anthony Evans and Albert Karnig, who all shared the community’s vision of what a local campus could bring to the Coachella Valley,” Jandt said.

A member of the Cal State San Bernardino faculty since 1983, Jandt is the founding chair of the university’s communication studies department, and also developed the graduate communication studies curriculum, which emphasized intercultural communication, mediation and dispute resolution. In 2003 he was named CSUSB’s Outstanding Professor of the year.

Jandt chaired the committee that prepared a strategic master plan report on the Palm Desert Campus’s marketing options and future growth in 2001, as construction of the new permanent campus at Cook Street and Frank Sinatra Drive began. Previously, the original Coachella Valley Center held classes on land leased from College of the Desert from 1986 to 2002. During that time Jandt taught communication courses at the campus, both in person and from Cal State San Bernardino through closed-circuit video.

During the 2002-2003 academic year, Jandt chaired the Palm Desert Campus Planning and Operations Council. Following the departure of then-Dean Peter Wilson, Jandt was named interim dean. In April 2005 he was appointed as permanent dean of the campus, overseeing all of its administrative and academic operations.

The development of the campus is a unique public-private partnership between the state and the community, which pooled their resources to develop the campus. Local financial support funded the construction of the campus facilities, which the state furnishes and maintains.

The Mary Stuart Rogers Gateway Building opened as the first structure at the new campus in 2002. Today, the campus has three additional buildings: The Indian Wells Center for Educational Excellence, which houses classrooms and offices; The Indian Wells Theater, which brings top-notch entertainment to the campus; and the Palm Desert Health Sciences Building, which houses the campus’s nursing program, the student health center and biology and chemistry labs.

Last fall, CSUSB’s Palm Desert Campus became the Coachella Valley’s first four-year university when it admitted its inaugural freshmen class of 100 students. The campus has previously only served upper-division and graduate students. Pupils from the region typically completed their lower-division courses at the College of the Desert or another community college before transferring to CSUSB’s Palm Desert Campus.

“Now as a four-year campus, the Palm Desert Campus along with the College of the Desert is even more critical for preparing local students for careers,” Jandt said. “Local participation and support were instrumental in building the campus and will be even more important as the campus and its programs grow to support our local community.”

Prior to joining Cal State San Bernardino, Jandt served as a professor of communication and director of faculty development and research at the State University of New York at Brockport (1970-79), and later while at San Francisco State University, had extensive experience in management development and training programs.

He is author or co-author of several books, including “Win-Win Negotiating,” “The Customer is Usually WRONG!” “Using the Internet in Your Job Search” and the popular textbook “An Introduction to Intercultural Communication.” He also has written a series of books on job search on the Internet and has done numerous radio and television shows on Internet job search for CNN, Bloomberg and others.

Through his work in dispute resolution and mediation, Jandt has provided training for organizations and has helped prepare volunteer mediators for the courts through the Riverside County Department of Community Action.

A native of Texas, Jandt received a bachelor’s degree in English from Texas Lutheran University, a master’s degree in speech from Stephen F. Austin University and a doctorate degree in communication from Bowling Green State University in Ohio.

A national search for a new dean is expected to begin early this year.

For a digital image of Fred Jandt and for more information, contact the Cal State San Bernardino Office of Public Affairs at (909) 537-5007 and visit news.csusb.edu.

For more information about the CSUSB Palm Desert Campus, contact Mike Singer in the campus’s Office of Public Affairs at (760) 341-2883, ext. 78107 or msinger@csusb.edu or visit the CSUSB Palm Desert Campus website.