Surprise!
The Cal State University system has appointed a new chancellor, and he seems like a winner.
To wrap up last week, the CSU Board of Trustees finally announced the successor to the retiring Charles B. Reed. His name is Timothy White, the soon-to-be former chancellor of the University of California, Riverside.
With the decision originally scheduled to be announced sometime around the end of the semester, it comes as a pleasant surprise to know there is now a confirmed captain sailing the CSU ship.
Being a chancellor of a University of California campus, White is knowledgeable of the current financial situation of California higher education.
Thus, White is a nice fit to helm what some might see as a sinking ship.
Facing trigger cuts, tuition raises and budget cuts, the job of CSU chancellor is not as flashy as it used to be.
Besides the paycheck, which will be equivalent to Reed’s annual $421,500 and $30,000 supplement from CSU foundations, White is not entering a cushy job.
With faculty and students unhappy with cuts made to the CSU already, White will have a tougher time if the CSU suffers the $250 million trigger cut.
However, White also has a chance to turn the CSU system around.
With a little bit a of luck, maybe we can avoid losing $250 million in government funding.
Tuition can be frozen at the rate it is now, and all CSU campuses can start opening their campuses to freshmen.
Of course, the situation we are in is not black or White.
See what we did there?
The outcome of the election can leave us with a variety of combination of solutions to fix the CSU.
White has a chance to see us through and become the CSU’s white knight.
Wow, enough White puns, right?
There is a brighter future for the CSU, and we hope that the new Chancellor White is the one to lead us through the rough spots. The CSU system did not work to become one of the most distinguished university systems in the nation just to let it slip away.
White’s success will be gauged on how well he is able to synthesize student needs and make obtaining a degree from the CSU as desirable as it once was.
Sure, this is a tough task with so many students and faculty sitting on one person’s shoulders, but the hope for a better future should be the driving force behind bringing the CSU back to its former glory.
