SAN MARCOS, Calif. – Set to retire following 15 years of service, Cal State San Marcos President Dr. Karen Haynes was announced as the latest inductee into the CSUSM Athletics Hall of Fame.
Attending her last official function with CSUSM Athletics at the Scholar-Athlete Luncheon, Haynes was surprised with the announcement and awarded a custom-made letterman jacket on behalf of the department.
“Being inducted into CSUSM’s Hall of Fame is a tremendous honor,” Haynes said. “It has been amazing to see the growth of our athletics department during my 15.5 years as the university’s president, from an NAIA school with six teams to NCAA Division II membership with 13 teams and more than 300 student-athletes.”
In 2004, Haynes made history when she became the first female president at Cal State San Marcos. She is the third and now longest serving president of CSUSM.
“She was paramount in our success of becoming full-fledged members of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) and NCAA Division II,” CSUSM Director of Athletics Jennifer Milo said. “Since day one, she has supported our efforts to provide our student-athletes with a first-class experience. It was hard for me to say that today was her very last athletics event, but this announcement made the day even more memorable. She will forever be embedded into CSUSM’s history and a transformational member of Cougar Athletics for years to come.”
In 2016, she became the senior president in the 23-campus Cal State University system – the first woman to ever serve in that role.
Haynes becomes the ninth inductee into the CSUSM Athletics Hall of Fame and is the first inductee since 2015.
