Robert Steven Nelsen (born January 21, 1952) is an American academic administrator, currently serving as the eighth President of California State University, Sacramento since July 1, 2015. 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 Brigham City is a city in Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The population was 17,899 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Box Elder County. It lies on the western slope of the Wellsville Mountains, a branch of the Wasatch Range at ...

and raised in Madison County, Montana. He earned a bachelor 1978 and

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an 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 practice.

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

1979 from

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

and a Ph.D from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

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 it ...

, and modern

political theory Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, l ...

Career

Prior to becoming president of CSUS, he was serving as special adviser to the

University of Texas System The University of Texas System (UT System) is an American government entity of the state of Texas that includes 13 higher educational institutions throughout the state including eight universities and five independent health institutions. The UT& ...

's Executive

Vice Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor is ...

for Academic Affairs. Nelsen served as the eighth

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

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 post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

of English at Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. Earlier, Nelsen was a

faculty member Academic personnel, also known as faculty member or member of the faculty (in North American usage) or academics or academic staff (in British, Australia, and New Zealand usage), are vague terms that describe teachers or research staff of a school ...

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 ''StoryQuarterly'' is an American literary journal based at Rutgers University–Camden in Camden, New Jersey. It was founded in 1975 by Tom Bracken, F.R. Katz, Pamela Painter and Thalia Selz. Works originally published in ''StoryQuarterly'' hav ...

'', '' Other Voices'', '' Chariton Review'', and '' Southwest Review''.

Honors and awards

Pushcart Prize The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize published by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are ...

, 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 (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, September 24, 2011 * Community Literacy Champion, South Texas Literacy Coalition,

Edinburg, Texas Edinburg ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. Its population was 74,569 as of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, and in 2019, its estimated population was 101,170, making it the second-largest city ...

, 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 Hidalgo is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. The population was 11,198 at the 2010 census, and in 2019 the estimated population was 14,183. History The area that is now Hidalgo was first settled by Spanish colonists led by José d ...

, 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