Cal State Long Beach’s College of Liberal Arts is holding open forums, beginning today, for the five finalists who have been selected as potential deans.
The search for a new dean began last fall after Gerry Riposa announced that he would be stepping down as dean in June 2012, creating rumors that he was being “forced out” by Provost Donald Para.
Both Para and Riposa, however, have denied the rumors and maintained that it was a joint decision.
Over the next few weeks each of the five finalists will spend two days visiting CSULB to participate in meetings, presentations and an open forum. The open forums are open to the public.
“Our overall goal is to get the strongest possible dean for the College of Liberal Arts,” Para said. “Each candidate had to be a department chair and have an academic record that demonstrated collegiate leadership and scholarly standing in the field.”
The first finalist to visit CSULB is Peter Nwosu, who is currently the associate vice president of academic affairs and a professor of communications at Tennessee State University.
Bryant Alexander, the second finalist, arrives on Wednesday. He is currently a professor of communication studies at Cal State Los Angeles.
Two more finalists, Brett Walker and Sachiko Matsunaga, will come to CSULB the week of Feb. 13.
Walker is the current chair of the department of history, philosophy and religious studies, and a regents professor of history at Montana State University, Bozeman.
Matsunaga is the chair of the department of modern languages and literature, and a professor of Japanese at CSULA.
The last finalist, David Wallace, who will be on campus the week of Feb. 20, is the chair of the department of writing and rhetoric, and a professor of rhetoric and composition at the University of Central Florida.
Anyone who speaks with any candidate can send in a confidential assessment that will go to the search committee council for review, Para said.
“It’s hoped that about a week after the last candidate is here that we’ll have everything together to make a recommendation for the position of dean,” Para said. “We expect to be able to offer the position in early March.”
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