MONDAY, APRIL 26, 1999

From boy to CSULB president

By Lot Tan

On-Line Forty-Niner

He grew up on a cotton farm near the banks of the Mississippi. After coming home from school, he would do farm work and study. As a teenager, he loved playing sports, especially baseball, and was starting guard on his 10th grade basketball team.

That young boy working on a cotton farm is now the president of Cal State Long Beach. Robert Maxson is now in charge of more than 3,000 staff and faculty and a budget of more than $400 million a year.

Tireless, Maxson wakes up every morning at 5:30 and goes for a 30-minute run. He arrives at his office before 8 a.m. each day.

One Friday, at 8 a.m., I greeted Maxson in the lobby of his office. We shook hands and I thanked him for allowing me to spend an entire day with him.

First he had a staff meeting with secretary Sherrill Pieschel and assistant Elizabeth Labrador. Maxson's executive assistant, Armando Contreras, was not there. He was probably trying to catch up on sleep. I know I was.

Maxson's secretary and assistant outlined the day's work ahead. As Maxson listened intently, Labrador outlined the staff council meeting at 8:45 a.m.

A former student called from Japan wanting to have lunch with Maxson when she returns. She is there teaching English to Japanese businessmen.

At 8:40 a.m. Maxson, Contreras and I leave the office and head outside. It was bone chilling: the blustery winds were strong and it felt like ten degrees below zero. And I've lived in Southern California all my life.

We arrived at a staff meeting in the North Campus Library. After a short speech, we ventured out into the cold frontier, with Contreras staying behind to listen to a report.

At 9 a.m., I thought we were going back to his warm office. But no, Maxson decided to go for a brisk walk around campus toward the Main Library.

Since it was Friday, there were not that many students on campus. Maxson joked, "These students are probably freshmen, because they don't know how to schedule their classes yet."

Approaching the library, we met 6-foot-11 Mate Milisa from the 49er men's basketball team. He was having problems with his social security number, which was preventing him from getting a job at the Library. Maxson sent him to Contreras for help.

Maxson graduated from the University of Mississippi with a doctorate in education leadership. This was the first time I'd ever heard of such a major. After graduating from Mississippi, he was a professor at Auburn University in Alabama for seven years.

He later became dean at Auburn, and then went on to the University of Houston to be a vice-president. Maxson's first presidency was at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas.

This is Maxson's fifth year at CSULB. Maxson hosts a cable television program on channel three in which he interviews interesting professors in various fields. He usually tapes two 30-minute shows a week.

At 10 a.m., we arrived at the office and Maxson had some calls he had to return.

"I think he's terrific and the one thing he loves most about his job are the students," Pieschel said.

"He's very genuine and consistent, plus he makes a big difference for the school," Contreras said. "When President Maxson got the job at UNLV, he was nervous about telling his mom where the job was."

At 11 a.m. Maxson met with four potential President's Scholars and their parents. The pubic relations side of Maxson appeared, as he sold CSULB as a great athletic school.

Maxson likened CSULB to a family.

"It's a small college within a big college," Maxson told the parents and recruits. He mentioned the benefits of the program and the community service each scholar must contribute to the school.

At noon, Dean of University College and Extension Services Dr. Bob Behn, Maxson, Contreras and I had lunch in the Chartroom.

"Most presidents just manage," Behn says. "However, he's the best all around president [I've seen]. I was sick a couple of years ago and he called me every day."

After lunch we took a walk to the Macintosh Humanities Building, because Maxson ordered a duck ladder to be built in the pool next to the building. A professor was worried that baby ducks would not be able to get out of the water because of the three inch tall cement surrounding the pool.

Not only is Maxson popular with the ducks, he's also popular with the Taiwanese government. Taiwan invited Maxson to come and talk to students about universities in America over his spring break. The educational difference is not that wide between the countries, Maxson says.

At 1:30 p.m. Maxson was back in his office to return phone calls. Maxson's office is fiercely decorated with CSULB sports mementos. However, the one thing missing in his office is a computer.

At 2 p.m. we sat down to get a little background information.

Thirty-five years ago he married Dr. Sylvia Parrish. They met in a small town in Florida, where he was teaching social studies and coaching the men's basketball team. They later went to Mississippi together.

In their spare time, they enjoy going to a cabin they own in Big Bear. Maxson's favorite recreational activity is hiking.

The Maxsons' have a son and a daughter: Todd, 33, a pediatric surgeon, and Kim, 30, an attorney.

Maxson works seven days a week. He said he loves the weekdays more than the weekends because he doesn't see many students on the weekends.

"This job is not only the way I make a living. This job is my passion and recreation. The things I do here are not like work.

"I just really love this university. You should be passionate about something if you want to be happy."

At 2:30 p.m., Maxson, an ardent supporter of 49er athletics, began getting ready to go watch a baseball game between the Dirtbags and rival Cal State Fullerton.

Before Maxson left, he said, "I never had a desire to go back to a farm, because I like people. And the people I like most are bright-eyed, energetic students with a twinkle in their eyes."