RESOLUTION ON CSU PRESIDENT SEARCHES

Resolution on CSU President Searches

Resolved:  That the Academic Senate of California State University, Long Beach urges the CSU Board of Trustees to continue the current presidential search policy and practice of having on-campus interviews for finalists as a part of the selection process for new Presidents, and be it further,

Resolved:  That this resolution be distributed to Chancellor Reed, the CSU Board of Trustees via Chair Carter, and to Academic Senate of the California State University via Chair James Postma.

Rationale: The Board of Trustees is currently considering changes to the current policy on presidential compensation and hiring policies. Historically, presidential candidates have visited the campus for which they were candidates and have held targeted meetings with administrators, faculty, and staff and also held open forums for the campus community. 

The loss of campus visits provided for in the proposed policy changes would greatly diminish the role of the campus community in the presidential search process and would eliminate the ability of candidates to meet members of the campus community, including administrators, faculty, staff, students and community members, thereby understanding the issues and challenges they might face in the role. 

Campus presidents are presented with a wide variety of difficult challenges, and clearly the California State University should take advantage of any opportunity to allow new presidents to build support in their respective communities.  Arriving on campus without having the support and legitimacy provided by such a process would put the chosen candidate at a significant disadvantage in building a successful transition.