Key CSUN leader, 80
L.A. Daily News 5/30/07
A native of Milwaukee, Wis., Cleary died in Idaho on Saturday.
He was president of the campus from 1969 - when it was called San Fernando Valley State College - until 1992, when he retired and moved with his wife to Boise, Idaho.
"President Cleary began his appointment at a pivotal time in the history of the university," said Jolene Koester, current president of California State University, Northridge.
"During the late 1960s, Cal State Northridge experienced many of the same major upheavals and changes occurring at other universities across the nation. President Cleary brought stability to the university during difficult times."
Just before his arrival, the campus had seen civil unrest as students protested the Vietnam War, and black and Latino students demanded ethnic studies departments.
CSUN officials credit Cleary with increasing diversity and equality on the campus through his support of the Chicano Studies and Pan-African Studies programs, as well as the Educational Opportunity Program, aimed at assisting economically and educationally disadvantaged students.
"He was a fair-minded guy," said Rodolfo Acu a, professor emeritus at CSUN, who helped establish the campus Chicano Studies Department. "He could have cut off (the program), but the university was, according to him, intent on giving us a fair chance," Acu a said.
"I do think he was one of the better presidents that we had at that institution."
During Cleary's presidency, the state college increased the number of degrees offered by about 50 percent and grew into a university with an enrollment of 30,000.
Cleary was the prime organizer and first chairman of the Tri Valley Alliance for Education, a consortium of Southland colleges and universities.
"I'm always impressed when a college president takes the time to bring together people to talk about ... what will make students as successful as possible," said Dianne Van Hook, president of College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita. She said Cleary's efforts, which included regular one-on-one sessions with community college presidents, were something she had never experienced before.
In 1986, those efforts were recognized when he was selected by the Exxon Education Foundation as one of the 100 most effective college presidents in the nation.
An expert on parliamentary procedure, Cleary co-edited "Roberts Rules of Order, Newly Revised." He obtained bachelor's of philosophy and master of arts degrees from Marquette University and a doctorate in communication from the University of Wisconsin.
He is survived by his daughters, Colleen and Janet, and two granddaughters. A third daughter died in 2000. His wife, Mary, died in 2002.