Following a highly competitive process, CSUSM selected Barnes & Noble College to help elevate its campus retail, enhance customer experience and improve access and affordability.

“As a leader in social mobility and as one of the top universities for students in our region, it’s important for our community to have a store that reflects campus goals,” said Leon Wyden Jr., CSUSM's vice president of Finance and Administrative Services. “The campus bookstore is a hub of activity, and we want all of our customers there to have the best experience possible.”

The partnership will begin this summer, ahead of the 2026-27 academic year.

“At CSUSM, we are deeply committed to student success” said Carl Kemnitz, provost and vice president for academic affairs. “Through this new partnership, we hope to address barriers of access and affordability for students while making course materials adoptions easier for faculty.”

Some notable highlights of the newly formed partnership include:

• a transformed retail experience with a modern layout, improved flow and a more customer-friendly environment that reflects the university’s culture and values;
• an elevated merchandising assortment featuring brands such as Nike, Under Armour, Champion and '47, and curated collections from Fanatics and Lids;
• an enhanced technology assortment, including computers, tablets, accessories and support services.

In spring 2027, the bookstore will relocate from its current location on campus to CSUSM's Extended Learning Building located at the corner of Barham Drive and Campus Way to provide premium access for students and the campus community with free, short-term parking.

Barnes & Noble College brings decades of higher education expertise, operating more than 11,000 physical and virtual stores nationwide.

For more information about Barnes & Noble College, visit bncollege.com.

About Barnes & Noble Education, Inc.

Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. (NYSE: BNED) is a leading solutions provider for the education industry, driving affordability, access and achievement at hundreds of academic institutions nationwide and ensuring that millions of students are equipped for success in the classroom and beyond. Through its family of brands, BNED offers campus retail services, academic solutions, wholesale capabilities and more. BNED is a company serving all who work to elevate their lives through education, supporting student success, affordability and engagement across the campus community.

Wyden was named the winner of the 2025 Distinguished Business Officer Award as NACUBO recognized six business and finance leaders and one university during its annual meeting, which started Saturday in Washington, D.C.

“This recognition holds profound meaning for me – not only as a personal milestone, but as a testament to the collective efforts, encouragement and wisdom I have been fortunate to receive throughout my career,” Wyden said at the awards ceremony. “This award is more than a professional achievement; it is a reflection of the values and community that NACUBO represents. To be recognized by peers and leaders whom I so deeply respect is both inspiring and humbling. It reaffirms my belief in the transformative power of collaboration and service in higher education.”

Wyden was honored for his significant positive impact on advancing business and finance administration in higher education and on the association. Since joining CSUSM in 2021, he has had wide-ranging impacts on campus, from expanded student housing and dining facilities to sustainable energy practices and streamlined business operations.

Wyden is active in NACUBO, has served as a board member for regional affiliate EACUBO and has been a peer evaluator for the Middle States Commission for Higher Education, among many other volunteer engagements.

“Throughout his four-year tenure at CSUSM, Leon has accomplished what would take many others decades to achieve,” CSUSM President Ellen Neufeldt said. “He exemplifies the very essence of strategic leadership, fiscal stewardship and innovative thinking, significantly advancing the financial and administrative excellence of our institution and the broader higher education landscape. Leon has been instrumental in transforming CSUSM’s financial operations, leading with integrity, vision and a steadfast commitment to student success.”

CSUSM is the latest stop for Wyden in a distinguished career spanning institutions such as Howard University, Upper Iowa University, Tiffin University, the University of Findlay and Frostburg State University.

NACUBO, founded in 1962, is a nonprofit professional organization representing chief administrative and financial officers at more than 1,700 colleges and universities across the country.

Media Contact

Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist
bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

Wyden rises every morning at precisely 4:20 a.m., and he does so without the aid of a blaring alarm clock. If that weren’t striking enough, each weekday he goes to the Crunch Fitness gym in San Marcos by the time it opens at 5 for a long, vigorous workout composed of cardio training and weightlifting. He hits the gym on both weekend days as well, but that’s not until 7 – only because Crunch doesn’t open until then on Saturdays and Sundays.

“I’m trying to talk the management to open at 5 on weekends,” Wyden said with a smile. “Just give me a key. I’ll open for you.”

It’s that level of self-discipline and work ethic that Wyden is bringing to his role as one of the new administrative leaders at CSUSM. In late May, he started his position as the vice president of Finance and Administrative Services, succeeding interim VP Mary Stephens and before that Neal Hoss, who served in the job for five years before his retirement last fall.

As the head of FAS, Wyden oversees a division that is composed of 240 employees and six subdivisions: administration, business and financial services, facilities development and management, human resources, the university police department, and the CSUSM Corporation.

“A lot of what I do day to day is operational,” he said. “I pay attention to what’s going on on the finance side. But there’s also a building side, a budget side, a human resources side. And then there’s public safety as well.”

Wyden comes to CSUSM from Frostburg State University in Maryland, where he was vice president for Administration and Finance, overseeing a division that totaled almost 400 employees. The position at Frostburg was the fifth in a series of finance-related stints at universities throughout the East Coast and Midwest for Wyden, who hails from Detroit and is a certified public accountant.

The move to California represented a welcome departure for him and his wife, Karen. The couple is renting a San Marcos home only a few miles from campus.

“When I was a kid, my family would come out west to visit from time to time, and I just loved the area,” Wyden said. “Then, during my professional career, most of the places that I worked had operations in California, so I spent a lot of time out here. When this opening became available, it was one of the things that I thought that I always wanted to do, and here was my opportunity. So far, so good.”

After spending much of the summer acclimating to his new colleagues and surroundings – he went floor by floor through every building at CSUSM with employees from Facilities Development and Management, one of the departments he’s in charge of – Wyden has been busy tackling a host of projects, from return-to-campus and COVID-19 vaccine and testing protocols to telecommuting to reimagining how space is used on campus. Since the university’s physical structures fall under his job description, he’s excited about the prospect of a new integrated sciences and engineering building – the Chancellor’s Office recently allocated $2 million to CSUSM to begin planning for it – and new student housing that’s under construction next to the Extended Learning building.

But Wyden would like to see more, and he hopes to be of assistance in accelerating the process.

“We still need some on-campus housing,” he said. “I think we could double the housing capacity (currently 1,547) and fill it fairly easily. I’ll be talking with the system about what we need to do to kick off housing projects on this campus. But going along with that, we’ve got to have the appropriate dining services for our students. Dining services had its own building at Frostburg; it was about 35,000 square feet, kitchen, lots of stations. We don’t have a lot of resources in that area.”

Like about half of those studying at CSUSM, Wyden is a first-generation college student. The son of parents from rural Tennessee who moved to Detroit as part of the Great Migration so his father could work in a Ford auto factory, Wyden was indoctrinated with the belief that education was a “golden key.” His mom and dad weren’t the only ones hammering home that message, either – it was the next-door neighbors who sent three daughters to college, it was the church, it was the community at large.

“I think my background gives me a great perspective on what our students are going through,” Wyden said. “Because my parents didn’t have the college experience, they couldn’t help me. I was very much on my own. There are so many impediments to learning if you’re a first-generation kid. For so many of them, this is their way out, and I’m happy to do my part to help them on their journey.”

Media Contact

Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist

bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

CSUSM’s two Zipcars, a Ford C-Max Hybrid and a Nissan Versa, are parked in designated spots on the first floor of the parking structure. All students 18 years of age and older, as well as faculty, staff and community members who are 21 years of age or older, may apply for Zipcar membership as long as they have a valid driver’s license.

Zipcars are available on-demand and can be easily reserved and accessed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Participating members with smartphones, including iPhones and Android devices, may download the Zipcar mobile application to make reservations, lock and unlock the vehicles and honk the horn to help locate the vehicle. Reservations can also be made over the phone or on Zipcar’s website.

“We are excited to offer this new, affordable and sustainable transportation option,” said Debora Schmidt, commuter coordinator in the CSUSM Department of Parking and Commuter Services. “One Zipcar has the ability to take 15 personally owned cars off the road. It’s a great alternative that can help reduce our parking needs and shrink our carbon footprint.

CSUSM students, faculty and staff can join Zipcar for $15, with rates starting as low as $7.50 per hour and $69 per day. Gas, insurance, and up to 180 miles of driving per day are included, and cars can be reserved for as little as an hour or for multiple days. The cars are especially a benefit for residential and international students without vehicles, as well as for transit commuters who want to run errands during the day.

For more information, visit the CSUSM Parking and Commuter Services website.

The cars are an especially convenient option for residential and international students without vehicles, as well as for transit commuters who want to run errands during the day. All 18+ CSUSM students, and 21+ faculty, staff and community members who have a valid driver’s license are eligible to apply for a Zipcar membership.

CSUSM students, faculty and staff can join Zipcar for $15, with rates starting as low as $7.50 per hour and $69 per day. Gas, insurance, and up to 180 miles of driving per day are included, and cars can be reserved for as little as an hour or for multiple days.

When: CSUSM will host a Zipcar launch event on Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016 from noon to 1 p.m.

Where: University Plaza, California State University San Marcos, 333 S. Twin Oaks Valley Rd.

Why: Parking and Commuter Services at CSUSM aims to offer and promote alternate modes of transportation that are environmentally friendly and effective. Zipcar, which was founded in 2000, is currently operating on more than 500 college and university campuses throughout North America, by far the largest such presence among car sharing brands.