Eternal Student - Channel Magazine

Caroline Doll, Director of Special Projects

By Marya Jones Barlow

Caroline Doll can’t get enough of higher education. In addition to working on the CI campus for the past 18 years, she also found time to earn an M.B.A. in 2007 at the age of 49 and a J.D. in 2013 at age 55.

Caroline Doll “I’ve always enjoyed the privilege of having access to affordable education,” she said. “I value learning and I’m always taking classes in things that interest me. I’ll probably keep going until I drop dead.”

As Director of Special Projects in CI’s Division of Business & Financial Affairs, Doll has a hand in numerous initiatives that help shape the campus and character of CI. Her most recent work has focused on implementing CI 2025, the strategic vision guiding CI’s next decade of growth. Favorite projects include oversight of University Park, a 367-acre park on campus, and the Channel Islands Boating Center, first working on contractual agreements and now working with staff on operational issues.

“Caroline always supports CI in a collaborative and collegial manner,” said her boss, Ysabel Trinidad, CI’s Vice President for Business & Financial Affairs. “She can be counted on to be flexible and responsive to getting the job done, which is hugely important as our campus grows and develops.”

Doll was working on the campus even before it officially became CSU Channel Islands. Hired in 1998 as a leasing consultant, she rented building space and managed tenant relationships on the vacated Camarillo State Hospital grounds. As the campus evolved, there were other needs, such as creating the Physical Master Plan committee and bringing food service to the campus.

In 2003, Doll became director of University Glen Corp., where she managed day-to-day operations and the selling and leasing of residential and retail spaces. She’s been Director of Special Projects since 2006, working on an eclectic mix of projects ranging from copiers, land transactions and business continuity, to internal audit coordination with the Chancellor’s Office.

“Caroline’s energy and productivity is inspiring,” said CI Risk Manager Katharine Hullinger. “In the past 15 years, she has been engaged in a wide range of projects that require daily interaction and collaboration with campus constituents.

“Currently, she is busy drafting contracts and leases, negotiating agency agreements on use of the CIBC, managing Public Records Act requests, handling subpoenas and managing an array of committee work, including the Business Continuity Planning Committee, Emergency Operations, Physical Master Plan Committee and CI 2025. Caroline is deeply embedded in the strategic operations of the CI campus.”

Though her work goes on largely behind the scenes, Doll is a familiar sight on campus, biking to meetings on her colorful beach cruiser, squeezing in a five-mile run on the trail at University Park or working out in the campus gym. She and her husband of 32 years, Steve, both take part in marathons and triathlons and therefore enjoy spending their weekends running the trails and swimming in the ocean near their home in Ventura. They have two grown children.

“This campus is vibrant and dynamic and there’s always something going on — an event, a lecture, an art exhibition,” she said. “It’s fun to work around all that energy and with so many great people.”