Our
View: President needs charisma and
Beach Pride
As everyone knows by now, President Robert C. Maxson is retiring, leaving behind
a university that collectively adored and appreciated his constant efforts. The
quest to find a replacement has surely put much of the campus on its toes, wondering
who can possibly revive the power
that was Maxson.
Given this campus concern, the Daily Forty-Niner would like to share a list of
qualities it feels the new president should possess so The Beach’s ongoing
scholastic success can continue.
The new president should have charisma to a level that can command large campus
crowds and amaze even small audiences. The president should speak in a way so
as to gain respect and make busy Cal State Long Beach students actually care
what he has to say.
Though he will not likely possess Maxson’s southern charm, the new president
must add his personality to the campus legend. The mannerisms, the jokes, the
public speaking skills — all aspects of charisma should shine from this
president. Students, faculty and staff should be proud to associate themselves
with our new leader because he will resonate an addicting aura worthy of our
universal reverence.
Maxson had his signature “Go Beach No. 1” hand sign. A new president
needs something similar and equally effective to portray Beach Pride.
Speaking of which, the new president must, at all costs, be able to understand
what it truly means to be a part of this university. Not because we are the only
school in the nation with the word “beach” in our name, according
to Answers.com, but because we here have much to be proud of.
A new president must be able to handle the tremendous pressure of a large university
like CSULB. As one of the largest in the state with an equally large faculty
and staff, the new leader must be a figurative four-star general leading The
Beach into academia.
A new president must be able to maintain composure in tough situations. He cannot
be like Will Ferrell in “Old School,” who touted about “remaining
calm” while frantically flailing his arms and smashing a chair against
the lockers.
But on a related serious note, the new president must be here at The Beach for
the long haul. He should remain here through thick and thin — parking or
no parking, grades A through F, NCAA championships to last place in the Big West.
For that matter, a new president must not get lost on the way to work. Los Angeles
County is a vast concrete jungle with formidable traffic. A new president must
not say, “Hey, this weather is great but there’s too many cars here.
This stinks. I’m out. Thanks for the paycheck, state of California.”
And, continuing the tradition of Maxson, he must place the students above all,
metaphorically before his own mother. Maxson exemplified this trait daily and
any new president should do the same. Presidents should be amongst the students
they represent, not behind some old wooden desk in the drudgery of the office
space scene.
The Daily Forty-Niner expects the best for what U.S. News and World Report has
dubbed a “Best in the West” public university. May the new president
not be a resurrected “Animal House” Dean Wormer, but rather a vibrant,
new individual to help bring CSULB continued accomplishment.
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