When California State University Chancellor Charles B. Reed announced his retirement in May, the search for a new CSU Chancellor began. The pursuit for a well- suited chancellor happened behind closed doors without faculty, staff or student input.
The lack of transparency within the search created uproar within the CSU community.
The California Faculty Association sponsored a resolution drafted by Assemblyman Richard Pan, which encourages the recruitment process to be a public and inclusive search. The draft passed Aug. 22 and has moved to the assembly floor for further consideration.
“The CSU Chancellor is one of the most important public servants in state service. As such, the recruitment and selection should be done publicly, not part of a backroom coronation that excludes key stakeholders,” CFA’s Associate Vice President Cecil Canton said.
According to Canton, the previous search for a CSU chancellor was a closed- door policy without a public voting system. He said thiscreated negative communication between the chancellor and the community.
CFA wants to make it known that the chancellor’s search needs to be more public because he represents 23 campuses with 24,000 faculty, librarians, coaches, counselors and more than 425,000 students, according to a press release. His decisions affect all of these who fall under the CSU umbrella.
The CFA created an informal survey revealing faculty and student expectations for the new chancellor. The survey, conducted June 8-18 consisted of 1,431 responses by faculty, staff, alumni and parents.
The results of the survey revealed 93.5 percent of the voters would like the chancellor to express true commitment to maintaining and improving the quality of education at the CSU system.
The CFA survey also revealed that only 2.9 percent of voters want the same commitment and direction of the previous chancellor.
In June, the CSU system began the selection with an open hearing at CSU Long Beach. This is the first time in CSU history a chancellor selection committee included faculty and student voting members.
The search for a CSU Chancellor is expected to conclude by the end of this year.
