The California State University Board of Trustees has many important responsibilities, but perhaps none is as significant to both the individual CSU campus and its community than the selection of a president. CSU trustees will take on that responsibility again next year when they choose a successor to CSU Bakersfield President Tomás Arciniega, who will retire in June 2004.

President Arciniega has been an active and effective president for the Bakersfield campus and its community. The trustees are prepared to work diligently to select a new president who has the academic credentials and leadership skills necessary to lead the campus to its next level of achievement.

The search process will begin in earnest this January, after the chair of the board establishes a five-person Trustees' Committee for the Selection of the President. That panel is composed of the chair of the board, the chancellor, and three trustees, one of whom is designated as committee chair. The board chair also appoints an advisory committee to the trustees’ selection panel. The advisory committee is made up of representatives from the faculty, staff, students, and alumni, along with a member of the campus advisory board, all of whom are selected by the campus. Also on the advisory committee are a vice president or academic dean from the campus and a president of another CSU campus, both selected by the chancellor.

The CSU is committed to the principles of consultation with campus and community representatives and to diversity in the selection of campus presidents. When the trustees begin their search, they cast a net far and wide to attract the best candidates from around the country, and they welcome nominations from campus and local leaders. The names of the nominees and applicants for the position are kept confidential while the trustees review those candidates’ credentials. Once the panel selects three to five finalists, it will release those names to the public. Then the panel schedules a series of campus visits so that both campus and community members have a chance to meet the finalists.

During these visits, the trustees listen carefully to the comments by members of the advisory committee, the campus, and the community. Input from the community is an extremely valuable part of this process. However, the final decision on the new president rests in the hands of the trustees. The trustees know the system and should be trusted to make the best selection based on the extensive information they obtain during the search process.

The CSU is currently in the midst of searches for three other presidents – at Chico, San Jose and San Marcos. Those searches are going well, and should stand as models for how well the process works. I would urge the citizens of Bakersfield and members the CSU Bakersfield community to aid us in our search by doing three things:
· Encourage qualified candidates to apply for the presidency.
· Listen to what the finalists have to say when they visit the campus
· Trust the CSU trustees to use their wisdom to select the best president.
If community members support all of these aspects of the process, we will have had a successful search that ends with an outstanding new president for CSU Bakersfield.

Dr. Reed is chancellor of the California State University