James Doti to step down as head of Chapman University next year
He elevated Chapman University’s name around the nation, and in August, at the close of his 25 years as its leader, President James Doti says he plans to step down to return to teaching.
Doti, 69, is Chapman’s 12th president. He will be succeeded by Daniele Struppa, the current chancellor. He announced Monday that he will go back to the classroom and take on a fundraising job Aug. 31.
Josh Nudelman, president of the Chapman Student Government Assn., said he is saddened by the news but thankful for all Doti has done for the Orange County school.
Doti “lights up a room and everyone listens to him because he shows his devotion,” said Nudelman, a senior majoring in communications and political science.
Nudelman said that during a recent political internship in Washington, D.C., people asked: “ ‘Where do you go to school?’ When I told them, they said, ‘Wow, you go to Chapman? Cool.’ That’s what President Doti has done: He brought value to our degree. He knows that you can either stay the same and hope everything goes well, or you can reach out, try new things, rock the boat for the better good.”
Before Doti goes back to teaching economics, officials will celebrate the grand opening of the $78-million Musco Center for the Arts, along with a groundbreaking for its $137-million Center for Science and Technology.
Under Doti’s leadership, Chapman surged from being a small liberal arts college of 2,200 students to a medium-sized university with more than 8,000 undergraduate and graduate students, and is ranked seventh by U.S. News & World Report among all master’s level institutions in 15 Western states. In student selectivity, Doti said he is thrilled with Chapman’s rise from No. 92 in 1991 to between No. 3 and No. 1 over the last decade.
“Our learning community is much more exciting, much more stimulating,” he said. “So many people give their time, talent and treasures to Chapman, and for that I’m grateful.”
Doti’s tenure “has been the most dynamic era in the 155-year history of the university,” said David Janes, chairman of the Board of Trustees.
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FOR THE RECORD
Sept. 29, 10:09 a.m.: An earlier version of this article misspelled the last name of David Janes, chairman of Chapman’s Board of Trustees, as James.
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“Jim is a visionary who has the gift of making impossible-seeming ideas come true,” James said. “Although it seems effortless, it takes planning and extraordinary people skills to make it all happen.”
Allison Jenney, who is studying for a masters of fine arts degree, said Doti “focused on putting people first and he takes time to walk around, greeting everyone, not just sit at a desk. You sense his touch everywhere.”
Twitter: @newsterrier
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