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Maxson
announces impending retirement
Cal
State Long Beach President Robert Maxson
has announced his retirement plans. The
entire campus is devastated to hear that
he is leaving before 2005 is over.
Maxson
said he will stay until a new president
is named. Hopefully that will take a while
because we are sad to see him go. Maxson
has touched the lives of everyone he has
come into contact with, from students to
administration to parents. His 11 years
at CSULB have transformed the school into
the wonderful campus it is today, with a
strong community and excellent education
opportunities.
Maxson
is leaving big shoes to fill. It will be
nearly impossible to find someone who is
as charismatic, kind and hard-working, and
who cares about this campus as much as Maxson
does.
His
determination to make our campus the best
has moved The Beach to the top of the list
of California State University campuses.
We can only hope that his successor will
care as much as he does and continue his
work to improve this university.
Our
campus is now the largest of all 23 CSU
campuses and the second largest in the state.
CSULB has also become one of the top three
schools to be named by U.S. News and World
Report
for master's granting public universities
in the West. This is a high honor that would
not have been achieved without Maxson at
the helm. He was able to bring some of the
brightest minds to CSULB through his President's
Scholars Program, which is the first of
its kind in California and brought a multitude
of high school valedictorians and National
Merit scholars to our campus.
Maxson
has always emphasized involvement at the
school. "My feeling is that if all
you learn at a university is what you learn
in the formal classroom, then you have not
received the best education possible."
Maxson said. Countless students have taken
this advice and joined clubs, groups and
student government and have led fulfilling
academic as well as social lives.
Maxson's
involvement with the students was not unnoticed
by the other CSU presidents, or CSU chancellor
Charles B. Reed.
The
President of the Year Award, an honor given
to one CSU president each year, has been
bestowed upon Maxson for the last three
years. He has won this award a total of
four times.
This
award shows just how important Maxson's
work at CSULB is in changing the lives of
those who spend time on this campus.
We
are all sad to hear the news, but we wish
Maxson the best of luck in all of his future
endeavors. We hope he will continue his
involvement with our beautiful campus. We
are sure he will be successful, but he has
left a mark on The Beach that will never
be erased. Good luck, and "Go Beach!"
The
Online Forty-Niner is looking for reflections
and comments on President Robert Maxson's
time at CSULB. Please email us at opedd49er@yahoo.com.
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