FULLERTON- The California State University Board of Trustees has appointed Framroze “Fram” Virjee to serve as president of California State University, Fullerton. Virjee has served as campus president under a term appointment since December, 2017 and will assume the permanent presidency immediately.
“Joining the Titan family has been the most rewarding professional experience of my career,” said Virjee. “I am thrilled at the opportunity to continue working alongside the tremendously talented faculty, staff and administrators to further the great work enabling student achievement and degree completion that we’ve started, and to chart the path forward for CSUF.”
Virjee succeeds Mildred García who was appointed president of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) in November, 2017. Virjee was subsequently appointed by CSU Chancellor Timothy P. White to serve as president of CSUF until the next president was appointed by the Board of Trustees, and he has served in that capacity since García’s departure.
“We conducted a national search that included many exemplary candidates, and it became apparent that the best person to be the next president of CSUF was already serving the campus,” said CSU Trustee Silas Abrego, chair of the CSUF search committee. “In his time leading CSUF, Fram has demonstrated unbridled energy and passion for the campus and students, and under his leadership CSUF will reach even greater heights.”
From January 2014 through December 2017, Virjee served as executive vice chancellor, general counsel and secretary to the CSU Board of Trustees. In that capacity, Virjee led a staff of attorneys, paralegals and support personnel, and oversaw all legal services for the 23-campus CSU. Virjee also served as chief legal officer to the Board of Trustees, advising them on all legal issues including open meeting laws, board rules and procedures and education code compliance.
Prior to joining CSU, Virjee was a partner in private practice for almost 30 years at O’Melveny & Myers, the oldest law firm in Los Angeles and one of the largest in the nation. At O’Melveny, Virjee specialized in labor and employment law with an emphasis in representing educational institutions in the areas of collective bargaining, education code compliance, and discrimination and employment litigation. Virjee’s practice included representing employers in employment litigation, providing preventative advice through client counseling, policy and procedure review and drafting, and extensive in-house training and education on important labor and employment issues. Virjee also served in several leadership positions at O’Melveny, including Secretary to the Management Committee, Chair of the Employment Committee, and the Partner-in-Charge of both Lateral Hiring and Diversity.
Virjee graduated summa cum laude, earning a bachelor’s degree in political science and sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He earned his J.D. cum laude from the University of California Hastings College of the Law.
Fram and his wife, Julie, have three sons and one grandson. Julie is very active on campus as a volunteer dedicated to student success. Fram and Julie are founders of Yambi Rwanda, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping the people of Rwanda through empowerment and collaboration in areas of education, financial sustainability and creating vibrant life experiences.
