Group Buys House for New CSUN Chief : Higher education: The university foundation will own the residence. It plans to build a presidential home on campus eventually.

To capitalize on low real estate prices, the Cal State Northridge Foundation has bought a house in Northridge for the school’s incoming president, with plans to sell it in two or three years after building a presidential residence on campus, school officials announced Monday.

In exchange, after she becomes president Sept. 5, Blenda J. Wilson will turn over to the foundation the $2,200 monthly housing allowance she will receive from the state and the foundation under terms of her contract, officials said.

Wilson, now winding up her present job in Michigan, visited the Northridge area in early July looking for houses to rent, university spokeswoman Kaine Thompson said.

But the foundation--a self-financed, nonprofit organization governed by a 17-member board--decided to take advantage of the current soft real estate market and buy her a house, Thompson said.

“It’s a good buying market right now, and they felt it would make a good investment for the foundation to purchase,” Thompson said. “I’m sure they’re hoping to sell it at a good price” in the future, she said.

Other than that, Thompson said she knew nothing about the purchase.

She did not know how much the house cost, where in Northridge it is located, when it was bought, how the foundation financed it, or whether Wilson helped select it, she said.

Foundation officials could not be reached for comment.

The promise of housing in the comparatively more expensive area was a key element in luring Wilson from the University of Michigan at Dearborn, where she is provided with a house.

“It’s quite a burden to place on administrators of her ilk to not provide her with some kind of housing allowance or house,” Thompson said.

California State University Chancellor Barry Munitz promised Wilson a housing allowance of $1,200 per month from the campus and an additional $1,000 from the state, Thompson said. Outgoing President James W. Cleary then asked the foundation to pay the campus’ portion of the housing allowance.

The CSUN Foundation--supported primarily by profits from campus food and book sales--has historically paid for programs supported by the campus president but not funded by the state.

The foundation came under fire last month when Cleary, a foundation board member, called for a closed session of the board to discuss housing for Wilson. An authority on California public-meeting law commented at the time that there was little legal basis for Cleary’s argument that the housing discussion and vote should be kept from the public.

The foundation plans to build a home for the school’s president on the campus in the next several years.

CSU presidents are being encouraged to entertain in their houses in order to be effective fund-raisers, Thompson said. At present, only 5% of the state university system’s income comes from outside sources. The goal is to increase that amount to 20%, she said.

Six of 20 CSU campuses provide houses for their presidents. Three of the houses were donated and the rest are believed to have been part of the original campus properties.

Cleary, who is retiring after 23 years, bought his own home in Northridge 20 years ago.