Departing San Jose State University President Bob Caret has formal proof that his name won't be forgotten. But it's what's informal that's likely to last even longer.

The university announced it'll henceforth call the large, paved area on the campus side of the new Martin Luther King Jr. Library the Robert L. Caret Plaza. That'll give both Caret and Cesar Chavez their own plazas in town.

But more long-lasting than the plaza -- or the library itself or the ``urban village'' campus housing project destined to erase forever the university's image as a commuter college or Caret's other bricks-and-mortar accomplishments -- is the change of attitude he wrought.

When he arrived eight years ago, Caret's cabbie was unable to find a way into the walled-off, shabby, insular campus and had to let him off unceremoniously beside a group of dumpsters. Caret quickly began turning the school's attention outward into the wider community.

He identified SJSU correctly as the metropolitan university of Silicon Valley -- the only one. He pointed out that more than any other university, its graduates are the workforce that powers industry here. He insisted that SJSU is -- and continues to be -- a player.

Like letting a genie out of a bottle, that's an attitude that's not going to go away anytime soon. It's Caret's lasting legacy.

And even if his much-reported first step -- having the campus windows washed after years of neglect -- wasn't a conscious act of symbolism, it nevertheless did wonders for SJSU's self-esteem. ``I just did it because the windows were dirty,'' Caret acknowledges simply. Unconscious genius can be memorable, too.

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