Long Beach Mayor Receives Alumni Award

Prior to becoming mayor, Bob Foster served as president of Southern California Edison for more than 20 years.

SAN JOSE, CA – Long Beach Mayor and former Southern California Edison President Bob Foster received the 2013 Outstanding Alumni Award at the College of Social Sciences Awards Ceremony on April 26.  Foster received a bachelor’s degree in public administration from San Jose State in 1969.

“The College of Social Sciences is delighted to honor Mayor Foster. We are especially proud of the contributions to civic life made by so many of our graduates, and Bob’s dedication to his community inspires and encourages all of us,” said College of Social Sciences Dean Sheila Bienenfeld.

Bob Foster is the 27th mayor of Long Beach, an office to which he was first elected in 2006. Prior to becoming mayor, he served as president of Southern California Edison for more than 20 years. During his tenure, he led California’s largest electric company though the 1999 energy crisis and developed the nation’s largest renewable, clean energy programs.

Foster began his career as a staff member of the California State Senate and California Energy Commission, where he established statewide energy efficiency standards that are still enforced today.

He is active in the U.S. Conference of Mayors and was appointed Environmental Committee chair in 2008 and elected to the Advisory Board in 2009. He currently serves as chair of the Mayors Business Council and as a trustee.

Foster was appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger to the Board of Governors for the California Independent System Operator and was reappointed by Governor Brown in 2013.

Foster served as trustee to the California State University system from 1997 to 2006, during which time he was the vice chair and chair of the Committee on Collective Bargaining and a member of an SJSU presidential search committee. He also co-taught a political science class at San Jose State with Professor Larry Gerston.

San Jose State University — Silicon Valley’s largest institution of higher learning with 30,000 students and 3,850 employees — is part of the California State University system. SJSU’s 154-acre downtown campus anchors the nation’s 10th largest city.