Where have all the good deans gone?
 

By Nicola Chadwick
Summer Forty-Niner

Mike Walter, Wade Hobgood and Richard Williams have something in common.

At one time, all were deans at Cal State Long Beach.

And all have resigned this year.

Rumors have swirled around campus that the executives were forced out, a charge that is flatly denied by the man in charge of the university.

"All the former deans have taken another job or decided on their own to do something different," said CSULB President Robert Maxson.  He also said he will not be making changes in his cabinet this year or next.

Williams, who officially resigned March 27 of this year, contends that he was not forced out of office. He was dean for 17 years and helped generate 38 grants and contracts totaling more than $22 million since 1995-96.

Williams is currently focusing on getting grants and plans to teach advanced topics in engineering next semester.

Hobgood, dean of College of the Arts, resigned in February and said there was no outside pressure to resign.

"The reason I left was to accept a promotion to be CEO of a major arts institution," Hobgood said in a letter. "No other reason."

Hobgood oversaw various projects including the development of the Martha B. Knoebel Dance Theater, the Carpenter Performing Arts Center and the Edison Theater in downtown Long Beach.  Hobgood also had a part in renovations done to the University Art Museum, the Design Building and the Fine Arts Buildings.

Hobgood managed to increase fundraising and initiated the California Institute for the Preservation of Jazz. The archive, second largest in the United States, was started five years ago and contains jazz recordings, books, compact discs, pictures and posters on the third floor of the University Library.

Walters, dean of the College of Business Administration, resigned Oct. 8 and did not give a reason for leaving. He announced that he would be assuming a faculty position elsewhere. Walter is involved in various business activities such as acting chairman of the board for the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.

Walters and Williams did not return calls seeking comment.