By When Mary Brenner, chair of the Education Department at University of California, Santa Barbara heard that Jane Close Conoley would be Cal State Long Beach’s next president, her first thought wasn’t to congratulate her.
“Truthfully, my reaction was dismay because I didn’t want to lose her as our dean and have the uncertainty with a new dean,” said Brenner, who is also a professor in the department. “But, my second reaction was to congratulate her and be glad someone who has worked with us is moving to a more influential position.”
Faculty, administrators and students who have worked with Conoley expressed a similar sentiment — happy for her achievement, but sad to see her go.
“It’s a disappointing development for us,” said Richard Deward, UCSB education professor. “We hate to lose her, but we really are pleased to see that she can make a further contribution to higher education. We are all in this together. ”
Deward said Conoley has several qualities that make her a good fit for the job.
“She is an outstanding leader and a person who listens carefully to faculty and students,” he said. “She’s very approachable and sensitive to different perspectives on how to get things done.”
Michael Rios, the editor-in-chief at the University of California, Riverside student paper, The Highlander, said that many students appreciated how personable and communicative Conoley was during her short time as interim chancellor at UCR.
At UCR, Conoley responded to student concerns about high crime rates by creating an overnight bus service that took students from campus to their apartments, Rios said.
Miles Ashlock, a doctoral student at UCSB’s Gevirtz Graduate School of Education said it’s her approachability that makes Conoley a great administrator.
Ashlock, who served for two years on Conoley’s Faculty Executive Committee, said she advised on college decisions and raised student and faculty concerns.
Though he is sad to see Conoley leave, Ashlock said he has no doubt Conoley is a good choice for CSULB’s seventh president.
“Student success and listening to the voice of students are paramount in her mind … I am confident she will be very available to students, especially those who take the initiative to send her an email or phone call,” he said.
Editor-in-chief Daniel Serrano and Contributing Writer Kaila Campbell contributed to this report.
