Gary
Reichard
Presidential candidate
Reichard to meet with students
By Joseph Serna
Online Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer
Gary Reichard, provost and senior vice president of Academic Affairs at Cal State
Long Beach, will be meeting with students, faculty and staff members today to
explain why he feels he is the best choice to succeed President Robert C. Maxson.
“
There’s a lot to think about,” Reichard said. “The president
is always in the constant awareness that he should know what the heck is going
on everywhere.”
Though his positions make him responsible for every college on campus and most
academic projects and programs, it still does not equal the responsibility of
president, which guides the direction of the entire university, he said.
One of the most important issues he will face is parking, something that Reichard
is well aware of.
According to Reichard, there is a goal within the university to raise the enrollment
of full-time students to 31,000 within a matter of years, but he views parking
as a more pressing matter.
“
We probably want to worry about parking,” he said. Unless better mass
transit becomes available soon, he said parking is going to remain a high priority
for CSULB.
Also of concern for students and the future president is the possibility of a
recreational center on campus.
The recreation center survey, which was sent out in early October, may lead to
a proposal for its construction in Lot 11 in a student-referendum in the spring—all
of which is determined by the students. Therefore Reichard sees no point in forming
an opinion on the matter.
“
How do I tell a student what their priorities are?” he said.
Another growing concern among campuses across the country is the rising price
of textbooks, something Reichard is familiar with, being a former professor of
history.
Reichard encourages students to buy at the University Bookstore instead of online
or at a local discount textbook store, because only purchases made on campus
put money back into the school.
However, for the campus issues the president does have control over, Reichard
would have fundraising and gaining support from the community near the top of
his list if he were to become president.
Though he believes CSULB’s distinction in California is only becoming clearer,
there are still opportunities for support that can help alleviate the financial
burden on students, he said.
“
If you can’t tell people outside about what we’re doing, it’s
going to be hard to raise support,” he said.
One of Reichard’s greatest concerns over who becomes the next president
is maintaining the direction of the school. When he first took office as provost,
Maxson said to him, “I expect your loyalty, and I give loyalty in return.”
He said his goal is not to try and become another Maxson, but just to continue
where he left off, and carry on with the same momentum and attitude.
“
I need to be the one to replace him, to keep the values in place,” Reichard
said.
After being at CSULB for 11 years, Reichard said it is the student-first attitude
shared by the faculty and administration that has things working so well.
“
What they want to do is come in and work their magic with undergrads,” he
said.
Noting that many faculty have only been hired within the last five or six years,
he said professors across the board are primarily student-oriented and stay at “The
Beach” out of the joy of working with undergraduates—a pattern he
hopes to maintain.
“
I’ve always believed only good teachers should be administrators,” Reichard
said. “It’s really important to have experience first hand.”
While he may be familiar with the campus, faculty and its students after so many
years at CSULB, Reichard said when it comes to a presidential race, “Sometimes
the home court [advantage] doesn’t work.”
He, like the other three candidates, has teaching experience at the college level.
Reichard said though none of the finalists, including himself, will ever be another
Maxson—whose reputation includes strolling across campus or wearing—“The
Beach” sweatshirts—there needs to be some level of connection between
the students and the president.
“
It’s important for students to feel comfortable contacting the president’s
office,” Reichard said.
A student-only forum will take place at the Associated Students patio from 1:30
to 2:15 p.m. and an open forum in the Horn Center will be held from 3 to 4:15
p.m. today.
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