ASHA recognition of former CSUEB President Norma Rees' passing
- August 28, 2013
Norma Rees, 84, on June 6, 2013, in Hayward, Calif. Rees served two terms on ASHA's Legislative Council and was 1979–1980 ASHA president. She received the Honors of the Association and was an ASHA Fellow. Rees earned her bachelor's degree from Queens College and a master's degree from Brooklyn College, both in speech-language pathology and audiology, and her doctorate in speech from New York University. One of the first women to become president of a California State University school, Rees took over the East Bay campus (then Cal State Hayward) in 1990. She also was a high-ranking administrator with the Massachusetts Board of Regents of Higher Education and held top management positions in the higher education systems in Wisconsin and New York City. During her tenure as president of CSU East Bay, she oversaw construction of approximately $70 million in buildings and improvements to existing facilities on the university's flagship campus, expanded its Concord satellite campus, and opened a professional development center in downtown Oakland. She led the successful effort to change the institution's name to Cal State East Bay to better reflect the region it serves. Rees developed the university's inaugural courses in engineering and biotechnology, as well as master's degree programs in social work and team-based multimedia. In 1992, Rees led a delegation to Moscow, where she signed protocols leading to the university's establishment of an American-style executive MBA program that ranks among the top-rated graduate business programs in Russia. Rees was also a regional leader, serving on the boards of the Hayward and Oakland chambers of commerce, the Bay Area World Trade Center, the Economic Development Alliance for Business, the California Film Commission, the Leadership California Advisory Council, and other organizations. Survivors include two sons, Raymond and Evan.