CSUN’s Wilson Joins Union Bank Board

Cal State Northridge President Blenda J. Wilson has been elected to Union Bank’s 18-member board of directors, bank officials said Wednesday.

Wilson, 51, who took the CSUN job in September, is the only African-American woman in the country to head a major university. She had previously been the chancellor of the University of Michigan at Dearborn.

San Francisco-based Union Bank is the fourth-largest commercial bank in California with $16.5 billion in assets, said spokeswoman Peggy Aulisio. It has more than 200 offices statewide and five facilities overseas.

Wilson, the highest-paid of the 20 Cal State University presidents, earning $134,800 annually, will receive $12,000 a year plus $600 for each monthly board meeting and $600 for committee meetings, like all Union Bank directors, Aulisio said.

In 1988, the bank agreed to increase lending in minority communities for home purchases and businesses, Aulisio said.

Wilson said through a spokeswoman that she took the post after being impressed with the bank’s “excellent service to the community and its social commitment.”