Cal State Long Beach Decision Applauded

Stephen Horn’s naming of June Cooper as acting president of Cal State Long Beach has met with the approval of the CSU chancellor, apparently ending a two-month stalemate over the terms of Horn’s departure.

“(We) are very pleased with the appointment,” Jeff Stetson, a spokesman for CSU Chancellor W. Ann Reynolds said in a telephone interview Monday. “June Cooper is an outstanding administrator and we’re sure that she will do an excellent job until a permanent successor can be found.”

Cooper, who will be the first woman and the first black to serve as president of the 35,000-student campus, said she is pleased by the new assignment. “I hope this will be a period of reflection,” she said Monday. “I’m going to need all the help I can get.”

Now the vice president for faculty and staff relations, Cooper, 55, came to the university in 1966 as a professor of speech disorders, a department she later chaired. In 1975, she became associate vice president for academic affairs and in 1983 ascended to her current position.

Cooper said she is not a candidate to be Horn’s permanent successor, a position expected to be filled by July.

Horn, who has been CSULB president since 1970, announced last Friday that he would step down Feb. 13 to explore the possibility of running for the congressional seat of Rep. Daniel E. Lungren (R-Long Beach). Lungren has been nominated by the governor to be state treasurer, but his confirmation effort has encountered stiff opposition in the Legislature.

Horn, a Republican, initially announced his intention to leave July 1 after receiving a severely critical job performance review in November from California State University trustees. But a letter from Reynolds directing him to leave Feb. 1 sparked two months of negotiations touching on such issues as Horn’s departure date and his right to name an acting successor.

The disagreement evoked strong reactions on both sides, including a letter from Trustee Dean S. Lesher accusing the board of acting illegally in forcing Horn’s resignation and calling for a special meeting to review the matter.

That meeting was held Monday morning, but according to Dale B. Ride, board chairman, Horn’s Friday announcement acted to calm a potentially explosive situation.

“It cleared the air and put the whole Long Beach issue behind us,” Ride said of the announcement and the meeting. “The general consensus is that we should get on with education, which is what we’re all about.”