Don W. Kiassing, Interim President, SJSU
(May, 27, 2010) – Don W. Kassing, who retired as president of San Jose State University in 2008, has been appointed as interim president of the university following the departure of Jon Whitmore who was recently named as CEO of ACT, Inc., an international not-for-profit corporation.
Kassing served in various capacities at the campus since 1993, and was named president in 2005 after serving in an interim capacity for a year.
“We are very fortunate that Don and Amy Kassing have agreed to give up their retirement, and come back to San Jose from their home in Phoenix,” said CSU Board Trustee Herbert L. Carter. “Don served San Jose State in an outstanding manner, and the CSU Board of Trustees is extremely grateful and appreciative that he has agreed to serve as interim president.”
CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed said, “Don will be welcomed back to the campus and we know that it will be in the hands of a proven leader with a record of stability and familiarity with the campus, students and community.”
Kassing will assume the interim appointment on August 1, and will serve until a presidential search is completed sometime in 2011. His salary will be set at the CSU Board of Trustees meeting in July.
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San Jose State — Silicon Valley’s largest institution of higher learning with 27,400 students and 3,190 employees — is part of the California State University system. SJSU’s 154-acre downtown campus anchors the nation’s 10th largest city.
Spartan Spring Fling 
San Jose is the nation’s top mid-size metro college destination, according to the American Institute for Economic Research College Destinations Index, 2009-2010. The index analyzes the academic environment, quality of life, and professional opportunity for more than 360 towns. “Choosing the right college isn’t just about professors and classes. Conversations in coffee houses, performances in concert halls, and opportunities for corporate internships also contribute to education,” said Kerning Liang, AIER research associate.
Last week a group of Spartans from all grad years came out to support the Alumni Association’s mixer at the Experience Music Project – Science Fiction Museum at the base of the Space Needle in downtown Seattle.
