Cal State Long Beach announced Monday that David Wallace will be the new dean of the College of Liberal Arts and is anticipated to start July 1.
CSULB Provost Donald Para sent an email to faculty and staff members making the announcement. Wallace is planning on visiting the campus later this month to begin the transition period, Para said in the email.
Wallace will be replacing the current dean, Gerry Riposa.
The search for a new dean started last fall after Riposa announced that he was stepping down in June 2012, causing rumors to swirl that Riposa was being “forced out” by Para. However, Para and Riposa have maintained that they made the decision together.
Shortly after Riposa’s announcement, a search committee formed to begin looking for a new CLA dean.
Five finalists, including Wallace, were chosen earlier this year and were on campus in February to participate in a two-day visit filled with open forums, presentations and meetings.
Wallace is currently the chair of the department of writing and rhetoric and a professor of rhetoric and composition at the University of Central Florida.
Prior to his current position, Wallace was the chair of the department of English at UCF. He also taught at Iowa State University.
Wallace holds a Ph.D. in rhetoric from Carnegie Mellon University and an M.A. degree in rhetoric and linguistics from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.