Glenn Dumke and Cal State

Chancellor Glenn S. Dumke and the California State University system are inseparable. However, to highlight his contributions to the system and to higher education in California by recognizing only his ability to organize 15 separate, disparate colleges and a polytechnic college with two campuses into a sophisticated senior system of universities, his talent for keeping the campuses reasonably secure during the “raucous” 1960s and 1970s, his creativity as one of the designers of the Master Plan for Higher Education in California, and his exceptional skill in being able to work with trustees, governors, and legislators of various political and social orientations is to miss the major contributions of this remarkable man.

In addition to his organizational and managerial skills, he was an intelligent, articulate, and tough advocate who argued ideas not personalities. During his last nine years as chancellor, I served as a member of the system’s faculty Academic Senate, including two years as vice chair and three years as chair of the senate. We had the opportunity to work, share, and argue on an almost daily basis. And, we had our disagreements!

We debated about such important issues as the role of faculty in the governance of the university, post-tenure review, faculty involvement in the selection of administrators, budget allocations, students on personnel committees, faculty and student membership on the Board of Trustees, just to name a few. However, in these heated disagreements, his arguments were issue centered, never personal, petty, or abusive.

But, his greatest contribution was his deep concern for and commitment to academic standards and traditional educational values. He seemed to have two major goals for the system. One was to have programs and courses that were rigorous, demanding, and of the highest academic quality. His other was to have general education programs that would ensure that every student getting a degree from CSU would be a liberally, well-educated person.

His successor, Dr. W. Ann Reynolds, described him as a “visionary leader.” She is quite right, and the California State University system would do well to honor his values and continue to reaffirm as its principal mission his visions of high standards, a quality curriculum, and the primacy of a general education. Higher education in California and the nation will, in Dr. Reynold’s words, miss him greatly.

ROBERT D. KULLY

Cal State Los Angeles