Our view: Susan A. is earning high marks at CSUCI
There’s a quiet movement afoot among CSU Channel Islands foundation members and other key stakeholders to advocate for Interim President Susan Andrzejewski to be named the next full-fledged president of the Camarillo campus.
According to at least six people the Business Times spoke with in recent weeks, the arguments in her favor include her deep knowledge of the community, her high marks for campus leadership and her ability to build contacts among current and potential donors, especially in Santa Barbara.
She has masterfully led the campus through a major leadership change when President Richard Yao abruptly stepped down this summer in order to lead The Trade Desk Founder Jeff Green’s initiative on data-driven philanthropy. That’s no small task given that Green has pledged much of his personal wealth — now in the billions — to philanthropy.
When she was plucked from the deanship of the Martin V. Smith School of Business and Economics to lead the 25-year-old campus, Andrzejewski was an unlikely, though welcome choice. There was a collective sigh of relief that a steady hand would be involved in the transition.
But Susan A., as she likes to be called, has proven to be more than up to the task of leadership. And naming her president would follow a recently successful pattern.
• At California Lutheran University, interim President John Nunes was awarded the top job after he calmed the waters after a turbulent few years under Lori Varlotta. She’s since moved on to the presidency of Antioch University.
• Yao himself became the CI campus leader when he stepped in as interim after Erika Beck decamped for CSU Northridge.
Navigating the internal politics of the CSU system can be daunting and according to our sources, Andrzejewski has to overcome a tradition of not elevating interim presidents to the top job – Yao is a notable exception. And bumping her up from dean to president would be unusual.
Still, the Yao appointment worked out well and Nunes has performed brilliantly as CLU leader. The CSU system could do a lot worse than taking a chance on Susan A. when it comes to picking its next president.
ADVANCING EMERGENCY PREP
The County of Santa Barbara has taken an important step toward better management of fire danger. A newly opened Regional Fire Communications Center and expansion of the Emergency Operations Center will better coordinate response between seven firefighting units from Carpinteria to Santa Maria and loop in AMR for medical emergencies.
Putting more power in the hands of first responders and improving communications will help the next time fire strikes. And there will be a next time.
