Last Friday Cal State East Bay President Leroy M. Morishita announced that Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs James Houpis would step down from his positions on Aug. 21.

Morishita said Houpis will rejoin CSUEB in January 2016 when the winter quarter begins where Houpis will join the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences after taking the fall quarter off, “pursuing several interests,” according to Morishita.

Houpis has held both positions at CSUEB since he was hired in January 2010. He also held a variety of positions at Chico State since 2001, where he was employed as the Dean of the College of Natural Sciences before coming to East Bay in 2010.

According to the Provost and VP of Academic Affairs website, the goal of the position is to, “provide high academic standards along with services and support that ensure each student the opportunity for success, a learning-centered experience where teaching is lively and engaging and individual differences are appreciated; and dedication to open-minded inquiry, especially with regard to major social and global issues.”

President Morishita credited Houpis with several key innovations during his tenure at CSUEB, most notably the “Academic Access, Enhancement and Excellence Fee (A2E2 fee) to improve student retention and success through the provision of educational resources, high impact programs, enhanced teaching, learning and support systems, and access to educational learning materials,” according to Morishita.

On Wednesday the Office of the President announced that the current CSUEB Dean of the College of Education and Allied Studies department Carolyn Nelson would take over the vacant positions on August 22 the day after Houpis is set to resign.

According the statement from Morishita’s office, Nelson worked at San Jose State University for 19 years before coming to CSUEB in 2009. Nelson also received a bachelor of science degree in education from the University of Nebraska. She also received a master’s degree and a doctorate from the University of San Francisco.