Leading a New Charge

Spring/Summer 2005

Filling a post that has stood vacant since October 2001, William Aguilar assumed the reins of vice president for university advancement at Cal State San Bernardino in early March. Aguilar had been vice president for information resources and technology at the university since 1992 and a CSUSB administrator since 1989. In contrast, the appointment of Aguilar’s new associate vice president for development came quickly as Françoise Aylmer took over two months after her predecessor, Mike Tracey, took a new post in Hemet.

Aguilar will oversee the development, athletics, alumni affairs, advancement services and public affairs departments. After a national search, the campus looked to Aguilar, who has more than 15 years of service at CSUSB. Lorraine Frost, the director for administrative computing services, was named acting vice president for information resources and technology before Aguilar’s transition to his new position.

Among Aguilar’s first tasks is to construct a comprehensive, integrated plan for advancement and build an infrastructure for university fundraising. “This is really an exciting time to be on the Cal State San Bernardino campus,” Aguilar said. He joined CSUSB as university librarian in 1989 and was appointed IRT vice president when the division was created in 1992. In overseeing seven departments in the division, he also has been the chief architect in the transformation of the university’s technology infrastructure.

Along with serving as the Hispanic Caucus chair of the American Association of Higher Education, Aguilar is the founding president of the Southern California Consortium of Hispanic Serving Institutions. Aguilar has a Ph.D. in library and information science from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Aylmer is a successful fundraiser with extensive experience in the higher education and nonprofit sectors. She was appointed to the position following Tracey’s departure in January. He left the university to become vice president and chief development officer at the Western Center for Archaeology and Paleontology in Hemet.

“In this time of fiscal restraint, our growing campus is more dependent than ever on private gifts,” Aylmer said. She was the development director for the health sciences center at Texas Tech University at El Paso and assistant director of development for corporate and foundations relations at the University of Texas at El Paso.

Aylmer also worked for the Alzheimer’s Association of Orange County, where she was director of development. Among her many professional and community affiliations are her memberships in the Association of Fund Raising Professionals, the Planned Giving Round Table of Orange County and the National Committee on Planned Giving. She earned a master’s degree in 19th century French literature from Smith College, and she graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in romance languages from Syracuse University. Aylmer is married to Robert Aylmer, director of the university’s student health center.

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