Spring Break
CSU board votes on Kassing as SJSU president today
Sarah Holcomb
Daily Staff Writer
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CSU Chancellor Charles Reed announced his recommendation to appoint Kassing as president of SJSU April 29.
In a press conference Wednesday, Kassing said the chancellor decided to postpone the presidential search at SJSU because there are other searches within the CSU system that are more urgent.
Kassing said the Cal State Long Beach campus and the Cal State Monterey Bay campus are both conducting presidential searches and the CSU system is searching for a chief academic officer.
"I think he wants to get those done first and he's comfortable with what we've done," Kassing said.
Postponing the presidential search at SJSU also gives the university more time to get other large projects done before the new presidential search begins.
"It allows us to get through our strategic planning process, our WASC accreditation and to get the university ready for another president," Kassing said.
The process through which Kassing could be appointed is not the normal process the CSU system follows to appoint a president. Kassing said he thinks Reed has only gone this route one time before.
"The policy and procedures say that in unusual circumstances, the chancellor can recommend a new president without a formal process," Reed said. "I believe I can justify unusual circumstances. The stability of the institution is an unusual circumstance."
The traditional procedure was followed to appoint SJSU's last official president, Paul Yu, in 2004.
In selecting a president for a university, a committee is chosen to search for and review candidates. Much like the process of choosing a faculty member, the candidates go through extensive interviews with administrators, community members, faculty members and students on campus.
The Board of Trustees for the CSU system then chooses the president based on the campus response. The main organization on campus that is consulted is the Academic Senate, which has student representatives.
In this case, Reed consulted the Academic Senate at SJSU in April before his announcement but confirmed that he did not talk to any students.
Student Involvement
Jennifer Lam, Associated Students director of governing affairs and Academic Senate student representative, said the senate meetings are open to students, but students rarely attend.
"I definitely think they should care (about the recommendation)," Lam said. "This guy is going to make decisions that will have long-lasting effects. The quality of San Jose State and the condition of San Jose State will follow you wherever you go when you get a degree, so it's super important."
Sarah Stillman, a student representative on the Academic Senate and A.S. vice president-elect, also said she thinks it is important for students to be involved in the presidential appointment.
"It should matter to the students who is the president of the university, definitely," Stillman said. "The president of the university is part of the same group that is overseen by the chancellor. When the 23 presidents come together with the chancellor, they are the voice for our campuses. He's the one guy that can stand up for the university - he is our voice."
Donald Hines, a junior majoring in psychology, said the process begs the question of how students are supposed to know when they should be involved. He said he thinks the university's administration is big and anonymous, making it hard for the students to know what is going on.
"It has to be spelled out for them," Hines said. "It pretty much has to be right in my face for me to do anything about it."
Hines said it is hard for the university administration to get in touch with the students because they have so many other things happening in their lives.
"People are studying, working, socializing," Hines said. "I don't see a lot of students sitting around discussing the direction of the university."
Stillman also said that many students at SJSU have a lot on their plates.
"People just have too much other stuff to worry about," Stillman said. "We're one of those schools that people have to work three jobs and balance rent and car payments. Students don't have time to worry about the school's administration."
Laura Knechtel, a senior majoring in child development, said students should care about the process, but that many students aren't aware.
"We should care, but I don't know if they do," Knechtel said. "If we did know about it we'd probably be a little more interested in caring about the new president or lack thereof."
Knechtel said the university could do more in the way of publicity or information booths to inform the students about university changes, such as Reed's recommendation and the Board of Trustees vote today.
Mixed Response
By choosing to go the alternate route for choosing a president, Reed has stirred concerns with some faculty members on campus.
"I have heard from a few people concerned that the normal process followed by the trustees in their policy for selecting a president is not being followed and a few concerned that Kassing is not an academic and that is what we need," wrote Annette Nellen, Academic Senate chair, in an e-mail. "But comments to me have been from a small number of people. Some people have commented that they think it is a good idea. I haven't heard from a lot of people."
Nellen, Lam and Stillman each said they agree with the chancellor's recommendation.
"Kassing is a good guy," Lam said. "He definitely deserves it."
Stillman said Kassing supports a shared government where each group - including faculty members, staff, students and administration - has a pull in decisions.
"He values the students opinions and he makes sure he has his finger on the pulse of the student body," Stillman said, adding that Kassing has attended many A.S. meetings and attended one of the group's retreats.
"He has always valued the student government," Stillman said.
Kassing's Background
At the press conference, Kassing explained his academic and business background. He said he taught for nine years at the undergraduate and graduate levels. He went into the private sector for 11 years and worked for General Motors Corporation and a major shoe manufacturing company. He earned an Master of Business Administration degree and said he has spent the last 20 years in administrative positions.
"I talked about his lack of teaching experience with faculty," Reed said. "I would welcome Kassing to teach finance classes any time. He has a lot of respect from the faculty leadership. He knows what the university is supposed to do."
Kassing said he does not know exactly who has been consulted regarding his appointment because he is not directly engaged in that process, but Reed has given him an impression of how the search has been conducted.
"He spent time with people in the community," Kassing said. "He leaves the impression he's talked extensively with people in the community."
Interim Provost Carmen Sigler was appointed to her position when Kassing took office as interim president. She said, via e-mail, that she has enjoyed her time and work in her position and doesn't think any changes will be made to her position if Kassing is appointed.
"I am willing to serve the university in whatever capacity I am needed - titles do not matter to me," Sigler said.
Kassing said at the press conference that he does not intend to make any changes in the vice president positions.
"They were picked very carefully," Kassing said. "I've asked them to serve with me in this time period. They are all long-standing San Jose State people, so they're not interims. They're just people who've worked here and they know what to do."
Sigler said she thinks Kassing's appointment as president would be good for the university.
"I believe that his appointment would be beneficial to the campus community because it would provide stability to the institution," Sigler said.
