CSU Chancellor appoints an interim president to replace the departing Vanya Quiñones.

California State University Chancellor Mildred Garcia has appointed an interim president to replace outgoing CSU Monterey Bay President Vanya Quiñones: Carlos Vargas-Aburto, who recently served for 10 years as president of Southeast Missouri State University.

The announcement was made to university staff on Wednesday, June 17, and made public the next day.

Quiñones is leaving at the end of June to become president of Cal Poly Pomona. Vargas-Aburto is set to begin Aug. 1, pending approval of his compensation by the CSU Board of Trustees in July. In the meantime, Andrew Larson, CSUMB's provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, will serve as executive in charge beginning July 1.

"I am so excited and believe that he is the right person, with the right experience, to fit with the Otter RAFT," said Quiñones in an announcement on CSUMB's website. "He has the values and the experience to keep our momentum going. The university will be in good hands."

Vargas-Aburto has spent more than three decades in higher education, from faculty member to president. He's a first-generation college graduate who earned his Bachelor of Science in physics from the National Autonomous University of Mexico. He also has two master's degrees in aerospace science and physics, as well as a doctorate degree from the University of Michigan.

"I am truly excited to jump into the Otter Plunge and participate in campus traditions," Vargas-Aburto said, referring to the university community tradition of plunging into Monterey Bay at the start of the academic year.

"Every institution has its own community, its own momentum and its own story still being written. I am looking forward to contributing to the great work already happening here and moving forward together," he said.