• Been the ambassador par excellence for the CSU and higher education in the nation;
• Reinvigorated the CSU executive leadership, building a team whose members brought focus and energy to the system office;
• Established trust with the legislative and executive branches of California government and brought CSU into the educational policy-making process at the federal level;
• Labored to protect the quality of education in the CSU during a period of economic recession and state funding reductions amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars;
• Demonstrated courage and eloquence in defending the University’s values and mission in the face of legislative challenges;
• Honored students through his work to defend quality and access to the CSU, his engagement with student leadership, and his generous contributions to student scholarships, especially the Claudia Hampton Scholarship Fund;
• Forged new alliances with the alumni/ae and the public to work on behalf of CSU’s mission;
• Supported the work of the faculty through the Academic Senate to establish focus areas of education planning, to engage in an examination of baccalaureate education in the CSU, and to give wide faculty consultation to issues central to CSU’s future;
• Created a new form of partnership between the Chancellor and the Presidents in providing administrative direction for the CSU;
• Brought a new professionalism to relations with the Board of Trustees;
• Worked diligently and successfully with private-sector, business, and non-profit leaders explaining the mission and message of the CSU;
• Established and supported work groups and commissions with broad representation to tackle issues related to student fees and charges, technology, and teacher-education and preparation, among others;
• Encouraged creation of a retirement incentive that protected junior faculty from layoff;
• Engaged the Cornerstones process as an exemplar for the nation of student, faculty, administration, and trustee collaboration and debate on issues fundamental to a university’s future;
• Focused the work of the California Education Round Table on improving the preparation of all students in public K-12 education and on the preparation of teachers;
• Accomplished the undisputed, unofficial record for fastest returned phone calls when something important occurs;
• Enhanced the reputation of the CSU through his work with the American Council on Education and through his leadership on commissions and initiatives of the federal government; therefore be it
