Leanne M. Neilson

Leanne M. Neilson has served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at California Lutheran University since 2009. She came to the university in 1993 as a psychology faculty member and held several administrative positions, including associate provost for graduate programs and accreditation and director of the graduate psychology program, prior to her current role. As provost, Neilson led the development of a new strategic plan, was engaged in California Lutheran’s merger with a seminary and recognition as a Hispanic-serving institution, and championed significant growth in faculty diversity. She also spearheaded a university-wide collaboration to overhaul the shared governance system. Before her career in higher education, Neilson worked as a staff research associate at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute in the Clinical Research Center for Schizophrenia at Camarillo State Hospital. She is a former chair of CIC’s Chief Academic Officers Task Force and was the recipient of the 2019 CIC Chief Academic Officer Award.