New dean brings experience

By Ryan May
Daily Forty-Niner

Replacing Rosemary Taylor Schmidt as associate vice president for Student Services and dean of students this fall at Cal State Long Beach is J. Michael Hostetler from Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho.

With 26 years of experience in higher education, Hostetler brings a skill he has polished during a career that spans five states and includes universities such as Arizona State and Indiana University, South Bend.

"He's really involved," said Loren Hajduk, director for the Office of Student Life at Lewis-Clark. "He cares about what the students think and he makes himself accessible."

Hostetler was one of three candidates chosen by a selection committee composed of faculty and members of Associated Students Inc. After sifting through nearly 80 hopefuls, the final three candidates were turned over to Douglas Robinson, vice-president of Student Services, who made the final decision.

Alan Nishio, associate vice president for Student Services, was chairman of the selection committee. Nishio said the group was looking for someone who would be a good advocate for students and had leadership abilities.

"In a smaller campus you tend to have a broader, college-wide view of issues and we thought that was really a good compliment," said Nishio, referring to Hostetler's experience at Lewis-Clark, a campus of just over 3,000 students.

"We're a large university but we very much want to be holistic and look at the big picture."

Hostetler's duties include, among others, working with Student Life and Development, Women's Resource Center, the A.S.I. and judicial services. With previous experience in handling judicial services and dealing with violations of the student code of conduct, Hajduk admired Hostetler's diplomatic methods.

Taking a reflective approach, Hostetler looks back on his days in college and draws on that experience to relate to students and the problems they confront.

"I actually care about each student as an individual," Hostetler said. "That's how I was treated when I went to college and I know I appreciated it."

Tagged by coworkers as dedicated and organized, Hostetler has a strong devotion to students.

"The thing I'd be proudest of is to think about the institutions that I've worked for and to know that I gave them my best effort and left them a slightly better place than I found them," he said. "And when I say [that], I'm referring to a slightly better place for students."

With CSULB's enrollment topping 31,000 this semester, Hostetler is committed to preserving the quality of the college experience for students. Although the task is great, he is seemingly unfazed by the challenge and this attitude is reflected by the motto he lives.

"The sin is not to try," he said.