Wells
opts to evaluate campus issues first
By Cristina Madrid
Online Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer
The second university presidential candidate to visit Cal State Long Beach, Richard
H. Wells, introduced himself to students, staff and faculty Tuesday and expressed
his desire to learn more about the campus.
Wells said he did not yet have a complete understanding of some campus-specific
issues, such as the President’s Scholars Program and the Puvungna burial
ground, but he told the audience he would consider as many viewpoints as possible
before taking a position in these areas.
Three meetings at various times and locations on campus focused on Wells addressing
his stance on higher education issues, as university members posed questions
that sparked the interest of those who attended the meetings.
An East Coast native and current chancellor at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh,
Wells said when approaching the position of president of CSULB, “[I am]
not a person to come to a new community and say that this is what I’d like
to do.”
With this position pushed, Wells deflected from questions posed at all the meetings
when dealing with issues of plans of the future.
Wells used his vast experience in higher education as previous provost and vice
president for Academic Affairs and professor of sociology at Indiana State University
and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, to tell the audience issues such
as diversity, democratic practices of the university, student athletics, ethics,
and gender and race issues are just as important to him as they are to those
facing these dilemmas.
University and community members filled the Horn Center as Wells gave a final
presentation to those unable to attend previous meetings. After an introduction
by his wife, Wells began the forum by asking the crowd, “What advice can
you give the future president to come?”
Many sat in silence so Wells waited until the end of the meeting to ask the question
again.
Next, Wells initiated a question session from audience members. Many faculty,
staff and students were curious about Wells’ positions on CSULB issues
and wondered how he would be able to fill the presidency vacancy. Many question
were in regards to the maintenance of policy, responsibilities and views Maxson
created.
Wayne Dick, chairman of computer engineering and science, attended the 3 p.m.
open forum with a good feeling about the candidate.
“I like what he had to say about issues on campus,” Dick said, but
added that Wells and Maxson could not be compared in terms of accomplishments
because they are on different playing fields. “Though there is no point
in comparing this candidate to [Maxson,] I really love him as a president.”
As a final note Wells said, “[Being president] is about having a real sense
of what the academic and administration community are about, and what concerns
they have so that we could find real solutions.”
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