Representatives from the California Faculty Association gathered at the Cal State University Board of Trustees meeting in June, calling for a more transparent search process in finding Chancellor Charles B. Reed’s successor. Last week, the Cal State University Chancellor Search committee held a meeting behind closed doors to discuss potential candidates.
On Wednesday, the California State Assembly passed Assembly Member Richard Pan’s Assembly Concurrent Resolution 164, which calls for a more transparent search process for the next CSU Chancellor. The 80 members of the California State Assembly passed the resolution unanimously, Pan’s spokesperson Brian O’Hara said. The resolution is now up for a vote from State Senate this week.
The Chancellor search process has yet to be determined, but if the resolution is passed, it will act as a guiding point for the Board of Trustees, CSU Spokesman Erik Fallis said.
“It is possible that a non-binding resolution will be part of the general feedback that they use for the process,” Fallis said.
According to Fallis, the search process is still in its early stages.
“The process leading up to [the final vote] is still being finalized,” he said. “The intention is to finish the process in fall … that is not a hard deadline.”
The closed meeting, held Aug. 21, discussed potential candidates and a potential process to select candidates for a final vote, Fallis said.
However, CFA and California State Assembly are calling for a more open search process.
“Our next chancellor must be able to work with students, parents, faculty and communities, who are essential to the functioning of a world-class education system that can produce the innovation and jobs California so dearly needs,” Pan said in a statement.
The CFA, who sponsors the resolution, wants the Chancellor Search Committee to hold open meetings and let the finalists be known once they are decided upon, CFA Spokesperson Alice Sunshine said.
“We need to have the candidates be known,” she said. “The chancellor has a huge affect on the school system.”
CFA Associate Vice President Lecturer for the Northern Campuses, Jonathan Karpf, said that the resolution will not have as much impact because it is not a legislative bill, but he said that it could provide extra input that should be considered for the selection process.
“Have the candidates come out and let the faculty see, let the students see, let the staff see who the candidate is,” he said. “This was what was deprived of us when Chancellor Reed was chosen in 1998. We would like to start off [this] chancellor on a much better footing.”
There are no official candidates for the position. However, Cal State Long Beach President F. King Alexander said there have been many recommendations for his candidacy, but for now he is not a potential candidate. Alexander has not formally applied for the position.
Reed retired from his 14-year tenure on May 24. The eight-member Special Committee for the Selection of the Chancellor includes student trustee Jillian Ruddell, Bill Hauck, Roberta Achtenberg, Bernadette Cheyne, Debra Farar, Kenneth Fong, Steven Glazer and board chair Bob Linscheid.