Letters: Education

Sacramento Bee 4/24/07

It's all about education

Re "Kind words for CSUS chief," letter, April 16: Not all alumni support the position of the president of the California State University, Sacramento, Alumni Association.

CSUS truly is a gem. It has an informal atmosphere where classes are smaller and students can easily approach instructors. The students are very diverse and the faculty is particularly devoted to the education of these students. Students that continue on to graduate or professional programs find that they are well prepared and academically competitive.

President Alexander Gonzalez's priorities are a direct assault on this academic environment and thus on the academic integrity of our institution. For those of us with a degree from CSUS, it devalues this degree. For those of us working within the institution, it is an assault upon everything that we have been building.

CSUS is at a turning point. We can either have pretty signs and snappy commercials, or we can continue offering a quality education. This president's policies will not allow both, as he continues to assert that the academic affairs budget still needs to be cut by $6.5 million.

The vote of no confidence is not an issue of egos and personalities, but to once again make academics a priority.

- Lisa M. Taylor, Rancho Murieta

Alumna and Professor of Mathematics, CSUS

President Gonzalez has vision

Re "CSUS president defends his job," April 10: The vision President Alexander Gonzalez has outlined for Sacramento State is exactly the vision that we share for the city of Sacramento -- capitalizing on our region's most valuable resources to make Sacramento the most livable city in America. Where Sac State once rejected a light rail station, Gonzalez has partnered with the city to develop a university transit village. He is also engaging the private sector to build a solid fund-raising base for the future, a partnership for prosperity.

Gonzalez has been a breath of fresh air, and his leadership has put the university on the right track. He has connected with the community because he understands that by developing strong partnerships off campus he is better able to serve the multifaceted needs of students, faculty and staff on campus. He should be applauded, not criticized, for this effort. Great academic institutions offer an excellent classroom education and rich extracurricular options that enhance the college experience. Gonzalez is fully committed to ensuring that his students receive both.

I hope that Gonzalez will remain in his position for many years to come for the sake of the students, faculty, staff and for the Sacramento region. His departure would be our collective loss.

- Steve Cohn, Sacramento

City Councilman, District 3

Keep the spotlight on CSUS

Re "Faculty begins vote on CSUS chief" April 17: It is worth noting that in the spring, 1969, the Academic Senate of CSUS (then known as Sacramento State College) authorized a faculty-wide vote of "no confidence" in President Bob Johns, similar to the one described in your article.

Within an hour, the president resigned. While considerable faculty discontent contributed, the decisive influence was an investigation by the state auditor of financial improprieties, resulting in the chancellor withholding his support. Clearly, President Alexander Gonzalez enjoys the confidence of the current chancellor, so he is secure.

The Bee's prominent coverage of this issue as well as the statewide faculty's endeavor to obtain reasonable working conditions augurs well for an informed public.

- Robert Donaldson, Carmichael

Chair, Academic Senate, 1968-1969

The faculty should stop whining

Re "CSUS chief is out of touch," letter, April 12: I write this letter from the perspective of having had the privilege of working (from 1965 to 2005) under every president of Sacramento State University. I was hired by President Guy West with a handshake and a telegram and retired after President Alexander Gonzalez was hired. I speak from a rich background of having experienced all of the administrations that have dealt with the growing pains that all young universities go through.

From my perspective, Gonzalez brought a refreshing, new vision to the campus with a positive "can-do" attitude. Within his first year, I noticed a tremendous change of attitude on campus; all for the better. I can guarantee that if there are any communication problems between faculty and the administration, the fault is not Gonzalez's. Gonzalez has the big picture in mind for CSUS, is always available to the faculty, and user and community friendly.

My advice to the faculty is to stop your whining, count your blessings, roll up your sleeves and get to work with Gonzalez.

- Bill Kutzer, Wilton

Professor Emeritus, Department of Kinesiology, CSUS

A different set of priorities

Re "Stop picking on CSUS president," letter, April 7: The CSUS faculty are neither sniping nor picking on President Alexander Gonzales. The Faculty Senate has requested a vote on "no confidence" in him for many reasons, most importantly his failure to lead CSUS to achieve academic excellence.

His "vision" is restricted to buildings and fund-raising, whereas university faculties have responsibility for the curriculum. A budgetary deficit exists due to many causes, principally a state failure to recompense CSUS for increased costs. However, Gonzales has exacerbated the problem by diverting funds away from academic programs to university advancement, fund-raising and increased administrative salaries and positions.

His "visionary" response to the deficit so far has been to mandate damaging cuts to academic programs, i.e. classes. So CSUS will be encouraging donors to contribute money to buildings and other non-academic funds and students to attend in larger numbers, while simultaneously cutting the academic programs, courses and full-time faculty students need. These cuts would extend over several years and severely impact the long-term academic quality of CSUS.

President Gonzales' budgetary "vision" is the most direct attack on academic programs of CSUS in decades. No wonder the Faculty Senate has asked for a vote of "no confidence."

- Henry Chambers, Sacramento

Professor, Department of History, CSUS