Though CSU Chancellor Timothy White has the capabilities to enact change in our CSU system, we still think he left many questions unanswered, such as why there is currently administration staffing bloats while full-time faculty positions are being replaced by part-time faculty at rapid rates.

Hot off the heels of the California Faculty Association salary negotiation debacle.

White visited CSU Bakersfield to discuss the future of the CSU system and address questions from the student, faculty and staff audience in an open forum.

While charismatic in his delivery, often joking with members of the forum and even willing to show emotion when speaking about his humble roots as a young man, the chancellor still spoke as a figurehead for an administration that pushed faculty to the brink of a strike and put the quality of our education in danger with his lack of involvement. Students finally got to put a face on the name of our seventh CSU chancellor and hear his side of the story, but he tried too hard to punter to the CSU community.

For a majority of the discussion, White spoke about his appreciation for CSUB and the rest was almost completely jargon that ran over the heads of students in the audience, but at least he did it with a smile.

However, Chancellor White has an obligation to all CSUs to support each campus equally.

Is it possible that White simply believed that CSUB would be a good practice school to prepare him for larger CSUs?

CSUB is a commuter school and is much smaller than most of the other CSUs which can make CSUB seem less intimidating and radical.

Other larger schools have a much bigger student and faculty body who have already protested and disrupted his visits before ours.

This reflects in the low number of attendees and a lack of protest from the few people who addressed Chancellor White on his position in the strike and his lack of initial involvement outside of rhetoric-filled press releases.

White stated that there was never a dispute about raising the faculty’s wages but a discussion that needed time to blossom in order to move forward.

“I’m committed to the benefits of our employees,” White said. “Please don’t put things out there that say I’m [not credible].”

While we believe White has the ability to create real change and are proud to have a graduate of the CSU system in the role, time will tell if his involvement with campuses is more than just a public relations tour to rebuild his reputation. We did wholeheartedly agree with one of White’s forum statements:

“History will judge if I’m a good chancellor or not.”