CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE : Hope Runs High for New Problem-Solving President

New Cal State Northridge President Blenda Wilson took a two-week crash course in Spanish this summer before moving from the University of Michigan, Dearborn to take the CSUN job in September.

A counseling class would have been helpful, as well.

Uncertainty and frayed nerves among students and staff of the Northridge campus seemed to prevail for much of 1992--a year marked by budget cuts, fee hikes, layoffs, charges of racism and the collapse of a $200-million development deal.

It was a disappointing end to the tenure of James W. Cleary, who retired in August after heading the campus for the past 23 years. His vision for a massive development of the school’s north end collapsed when the school’s private partner, Watt Industries Inc., pulled out of the deal.

School officials had planned on a new athletic stadium, campus theaters and a healthy annual income in exchange for allowing Watt to build a hotel, offices and restaurants on school land.

But a declining economy and delays in getting city approval contributed to the deal’s collapse.

The summer-long state budget stalemate further upset campus staffers, prompting talk about eliminating some academic departments and rekindling debate over the expense of fielding NCAA Division I athletic teams.

Cleary, as a lame-duck administrator, shied away from making permanent decisions on campus reorganization and finances, leaving that job to Wilson.

As a result, Wilson--who was hired largely on her reputation as a manager, problem-solver and fund-raiser--was greeted in September by a campus impatient for action.

State budget cuts of 8% prompted the cancellation of more than 800 classes from the 5,700 planned for the fall semester. At the same time, annual fees climbed 40%, to $1,520 for two semesters.

Students during the first week of classes were forced into a frantic game of musical chairs as they tried to add popular courses required for graduation.

Although the school has managed so far to keep from laying off tenured and tenure-track professors, scores of part-timers were left without work.

News that the state budget shortfall is expected to continue another year has raised the prospect of further class reductions and revived talk of cutting some of the school’s programs.

Cuts in classes make it even tougher for CSUN students to graduate in four years. The school has long been criticized for its low on-time graduation rate.

The cutbacks also prompted CSUN officials for the first time to bar admission to freshmen and most transfer students for the spring semester.

Excessively high expectations that Wilson would solve these and other problems have prompted her to begin saying during public talks that she cannot in a matter of weeks divine answers to the growing number of campus problems.

But she has started work on plans to beef up the school’s fund-raising department, which, like most such departments at California public universities, has never been called upon to supplement ongoing academic programs.

In large part, Wilson’s success at CSUN is expected to be measured in dollars collected. Much of her time so far has been spent meeting with members of the San Fernando Valley community, including corporate and community leaders.

Faculty members say they hope Wilson’s persuasive personality will open the checkbooks of, for example, businesses that stand to gain from a steady supply of top-notch graduates.

A flare-up of racial tensions at the school, sparked by an October fraternity flyer that referred to an obscene drinking song that was offensive to many Latino students and women, sidetracked Wilson from her work as a community ambassador and forced more frequent appearances to groups of faculty and students.

Reflecting Wilson’s attitude toward issues of racism, the incident resulted in the 14-month suspension of fraternity Zeta Beta Tau, a more severe penalty than was given at UCLA to a fraternity guilty of a similar offense.