Leslie E. Wong will be the next president of San Francisco State University. Photo courtesy SFSU.

Leslie E. Wong has been named the new president of San Francisco State University, replacing outgoing SFSU President Robert A. Corrigan.

Wong leaves the presidency of Northern Michigan University, a post he held since 2004, to take over at SFSU starting Aug. 1. Corrigan started as San Francisco State’s president in 1988.

The California State University Board of Trustees chose Wong earlier this week after a process that included just one public meeting at SFSU.

SFSU’s student-run Golden Gate Xpress news organization reports that Wong is a Bay Area native who grew up in Oakland, and was attracted to the university in part because of its diverse student population:

“The values that you find in San Francisco resonate with what my life has been, one of commitment to social justice and equity,” Wong said. “The diversity of the students is the number one attraction for me. I’ve done my homework on students there and I’m really looking forward to meeting them.”

According to a statement from NMU, under Wong’s presidency that university engaged in a major strategic-planning process: “The evolving plan focuses on four areas for improvement: innovation, helping students lead meaningful lives, leveraging campus attributes and community engagement.”

According to a press release from SF State, Wong holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Gonzaga University, a master’s degree in experimental psychology from Eastern Washington University and a Ph.D. in educational psychology from Washington State University.