Description

An oral history conducted by Susan Resnik, Ph.D. with former San Diego State University Research Foundation CEO Frea Sanderlin Sladek on June 27, 2012. Ms. Sladek was selected as the fourth and only female CEO of the Research Foundation in 2000. Her contributions included the acquisition of properties for the future expansion and redevelopment of the SDSU campus, the planning and development of a marine science lab (adjacent to, and affiliated with, the Geological Survey), and attracting significantly more funding for faculty projects and research. Frea Sladek retired as CEO in 2006. She currently resides in El Cajon, CA. In her oral history, Sladek discusses her childhood, growing up in Orono, Maine. She was the daughter of an English professor (George Sanderlin) and a writer (O'Anita Sanderlin), She also speaks about moving to San Diego in the 1950s, her time at San Diego State, and teaching at Grossmont Community College. She then discusses her first job at the Research Foundation in 1969, managing Peace Corps training contracts through the International Project Center, and her eventual promotion to Associate General Manager in the 70s. The oral history also documents Sladek's many successes as CEO of the Research Foundation. This oral history was made possible by a grant from the John and Jane Adams Endowment for the Humanities and is part of the University Archives Multimedia Files Collection. Names mentioned during the interview include: Sheila Sanderlin, David Sanderlin, John Sanderlin, John Adams, Owenita Sanderlin, Robert Naradelli, Kathy Sladek, Teri Sladek, Steve Sladek, Lori Sladek, Debbie Sladek, Brage Golding, James W. Cobble, Robert Benshoff, Davene C. Gibson, Harry Albers, Steve Bloom, Jane Adams, June Burnett, John Wedemeyer, James R. Milliken, Fred Hansen, Shimon Peres, Albert W. Johnson, Eugene L. Stein, Timothy Hushen, Bonnie Stewart, Thomas Day, Bill Feeney, and Frank Sladek., San Diego State University