Northridge Group Seeks Review

A civic group including several members of the Cal State Northridge Presidential Advisory Board will gather today at 11 a.m. at the Northridge campus to call for a review of the hiring of Richard M. Dull as athletic director.

William “Blinky” Rodriguez, a Northridge booster and supporter of Robert Arias, who was among four finalists for the athletic director position, said the group will ask state Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa and Cal State University Chancellor Charles Reed to review the selection process.

Dull, former athletic director at Maryland, was hired May 26 by Northridge President Blenda Wilson, ending a five-month nationwide search.

Wilson has resigned and will leave at the end of the week to take a job in Boston.

Rodriguez, a former prizefighter, was among about two dozen supporters of Arias, a former athletic director at Loyola Marymount, in attendance at a campus forum in May.

“There is no question I was in support of Arias,” Rodriguez said. “But in the same regard, there was no regard by Wilson about what the community felt. It seems she just didn’t listen to what the community had to say and then she was on her way.

“We are just asking for a review. These people will make public comments about how they feel.”