Provost and Executive Vice President Mary Pedersen joined CSU in August 2020 from California Polytechnic State University, where she served in successive leadership roles within the Provost’s Office since 2011. During her more than 30 years at Cal Poly, she also served on faculty and as associate dean in the College of Agriculture, Food, and Environmental Sciences.

Pedersen began her career at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine. She earned her B.A. in biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and both her M.S. and Ph.D. in Public Health Nutrition with a minor in lipid biochemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Pedersen is the chief academic officer of CSU and works with the president, deans, vice presidents, and campus community to strengthen the university’s reputation as an internationally recognized land-grant institution of higher education.