New VP offers fresh views

Student Services and Administration welcomes the new perspectives of Gary Reichard, the newly-appointed associate vice president for academic affairs and academic personnel.

Reichard will serve in such a position for the first time after nearly 27 years of working in the education field.

Reichard's background is as diverse as the student population at Cal State Long Beach. He went from history instructor to history department chairman to honors program director and working in College of Wooster, Ohio State University, University of Delaware and University of Maryland.

He last served as the acting associate dean in the Schmidt College of Arts and Humanities at Florida Atlantic University.

Through all this time, Reichard wrote books, articles, encyclopedia articles and book reviews, while participating in numerous lectures and receiving awards left and right.

But Reichard, being the man that he is, wanted to do more. "I was interested in finding a position wherein I could make a difference university-wide," he explained. And CSULB provided the perfect position and place where he could do that.

"This position allows involvement in the faculty personnel policies,which is the whole set of actions that go from appointing to mentoring and nurturing to evaluating who you keep, so I can ensure high quality," Reichard said. "I enjoy an environment of diversity and excitement. The population of California is what the U.S.' will be in the future. So CSULB is a microcosm of what we will be and it gives me a chance to work on future issues now."

But more than the attractive position, beautiful campus and multicultural community, what really clinched the decision to come here for Reichard is the working relationship between faculty and administration.

"The California Faculty Association here has been effective in working for the needs of the faculty, but the relationship with the administration is positive, not antagonistic," Reichard said. "There is mutual respect."

This harmony, he explained, is crucial in determining the difficulty of his job because his office, as provost staff, is where everything and everyone comes together.

Aside from his official responsibilities, he set plans and goals of his own.

"Through faculty governance, the faculty will take a closer look on retention and tenure," Reichard said. "I will also work so we can givesupport to parts of the university to build faculty resources where they could develop themselves professionally, which would then directly benefit the students."

Reichard looks forward to working at CSULB and really getting involved. He is optimistic that he can achieve his goals.

"I've had administrative responsibilities of different levels. It's useful because it's important to understand the implications of policies and changes," he said.

"And the fact that I'm new to this university allows a fresh look on things that have been accepted whether for good or ill. It will [all] help me do better," Reichard concluded.