Robert Steven Nelsen (born January 21, 1952) is an American academic administrator, who served as the eighth President of California State University, Sacramento from July 1, 2015 to July 16, 2023. On November 2, 2022, Nelsen announced his impending retirement as President of California State University, Sacramento and the CSU Board of Trustees subsequently announced their search for the ninth President of the University by the Trustees Committee for the Selection of the President chaired by Diego Arambula.

Early life and education

Nelsen was born in Brigham City, Utah, and raised in Madison County, Montana. He earned a bachelor 1978 and

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

1979 from

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

and a Ph.D. from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

1989, specializing in modern literature,

modern philosophy Modern philosophy is philosophy developed in the modern era and associated with modernity. It is not a specific doctrine or school (and thus should not be confused with ''Modernism''), although there are certain assumptions common to much of i ...

, and modern

political theory Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and legitimacy of political institutions, such as states. This field investigates different forms of government, ranging from d ...

Career

Prior to becoming president of CSUS, he was serving as special adviser to the University of Texas System's Executive

Vice Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth countr ...

for Academic Affairs. Nelsen served as the eighth President of the University of Texas–Pan American from January 2010 to August 2014. Prior to this, Nelsen was an associate vice president for academic affairs and

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of English at Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. Earlier, Nelsen was a faculty member at the University of Texas at Dallas. He served as the speaker of the Faculty and chaired the University of Texas System Faculty Advisory Council. After winning the Chancellor’s Council Award for Outstanding Teaching, he was recruited into the Provost's Office and served as vice provost there. Nelsen is an author of fiction in journals which include the '' Story Quarterly'', '' Other Voices'', '' Chariton Review'', and '' Southwest Review''.

Honors and awards

* Pushcart Prize, Best of the Small Presses: Distinguished Stories Award, 1991: "Ronnie Big Wolf Tooth" and "Two Points of a Blue Star", 1991 * "Ten Best Journals," Common Knowledge, May 1, 1993, ''

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

'' * "Best Journal in Humanities, Social Studies, and Social Sciences, 1993," Common Knowledge, The Association of American Publishers, January 1994 * Literacy Champion Award, South Texas Literacy Coalition, Historias de la Vida 3rd Annual Gala, Palmhurst,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, September 24, 2011 * Community Literacy Champion, South Texas Literacy Coalition, Edinburg, Texas, September 22, 2012 * Edinburg Rotary Leadership Award, Edinburg, Texas, June 26, 2013 * Good Samaritan Community Services Award, Good Samaritan Community Services, Pharr, Texas, August 7, 2013 * Man of the Year Award, Edinburg Chamber of Commerce, Edinburg, Texas, Texas, October 24, 2013 * Golden Eagle Award, Rio Grande Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, McAllen, Texas, March 1, 2014 * Rio Grande Valley Walk of Fame, BorderFest, Hidalgo, Texas, March 5, 2014 * Champion of the Year, Sacramento Black Chamber of Commerce 2022

References

External links

Official University of Texas-Pan American Profile

Special Tribute to Dr. Robert Nelsen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelsen, Robert S. Presidents of California State University, Sacramento 1952 births Living people University of Illinois Chicago faculty University of Texas at Dallas faculty University of Texas System people Brigham Young University alumni Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi faculty University of Chicago alumni People from Brigham City, Utah People from McAllen, Texas 20th-century American educators 21st-century American educators