3rd Presidential Finalist Speaks at CSUN

Gretchen M. Bataille drew on her knowledge of ethnic relations and her academic experience at two large state universities outside California in explaining Wednesday during a public forum why she wants to be president of Cal State Northridge.

Bataille, 55, provost and academic vice president at Washington State University in Pullman, Wash., said she was attracted to Cal State Northridge because of its commitment to providing educational access and to diversity.

She was the third of four university president candidates scheduled to visit Cal State Northridge this week. The last candidate is scheduled to visit the campus today. All four will be interviewed next week by the California State University Board of Trustees.

Members of the audience, which had dwindled to about 70 from the roughly 100 who attended the first forum Monday, seemed to have honed their questions. They asked Bataille about the best way to preserve faculty tenure, about merit pay and about the role athletics and fund-raising play at Cal State Northridge.

Bataille, a highly regarded ethnic studies scholar and author of more than 50 books and published papers, has served in administrative posts at Arizona State University and UC Santa Barbara. She offered some of the week’s most direct answers.

In response to a question sidestepped by an earlier candidate regarding plans to build an athletic stadium within earshot of neighboring residents, Bataille said she was confident that CSUN and the residents could reach a compromise. She added that it should always be kept in mind that academics is the university’s primary mission.

She said she supports a newly instituted merit pay system for CSU faculty members, but stressed the importance of clarity, consistency and faculty involvement in the evaluation process.

Some professors argue merit pay will restrict their academic freedom.

“The question is: Who determines merit? How is merit determined? Who participates in the process and does everyone think it was fairly carried out?” she said.

Good performance evaluation policies, Bataille said, could actually quell criticism.

“I have no interest or inclination to abolish tenure,” she said. “But we must eternally demonstrate that we are accountable.”

Regarding Cal State Northridge’s difficulties in connecting with the San Fernando Valley community, Bataille touted Washington State’s success in tapping alums--who are among the nation’s most generous university donors--and private industry contacts such as Microsoft and Boeing.

Biology professor Joyce Maxwell said she was impressed with Bataille’s thoughtful manner and her ideas, but doubted whether she had sufficient understanding of the specific challenges facing local universities.

“I am concerned that she has never dealt with students that have the needs of our students,” she said. “Even at Arizona, most students don’t have to worry about getting shot while going through K-12.”