With an eye to strengthening the California State University system, the California Faculty Association launched a bold series of hearings in March on the "Future of CSU: Reclaiming the University for All People of California."
Faculty members, students and education experts outlined the various problems affecting teaching and learning within the university at the first hearing at San Jose State University. The daylong session allowed testimony to be given to a panel that included CSU professors, legislators, labor leaders and state education officials.
Panelists include California Department of Education Deputy Superintendent Henry Der and CFA officers Susan Meisenhelder and Patricia Hill.
Problems including the increasing use of part-time instructors, the impact of distance learning, access for all students, and the corporatization of the university were detailed during the event.
"I consider these hearings to be extremely important," said consumer activist and Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader in a keynote address.
"The problems are similar to those in many states around the nation. Over the years, there has been a redefinition of the purposes of the system. There has been a sharply provocative move into academic arenas by corporate interests."
While "more corporations are reaping profits beyond the dreams of avarice," he said the public college system is having continuing budget struggles that are closing the door on the founding concept of free tuition.
Nader's views echoed the concerns expressed by historian David Noble earlier in the hearings. A professor at York University in Toronto, Noble said that corporations have become so influential that the public has forgotten how to evoke a "non-market view of what a university is." At York University, he said, there is a shopping mall in the middle of the campus as well as advertisements in the washroom.
Noble compared the university to religious institutions, which have been shielded from the commercial assault that has occurred in other areas. "I want to suggest that we start thinking of universities as sacred space.... When I shut the door, what goes on between me and my students is unique."
Others who testified worried about diminishing access to higher education for students. Noting that 70 percent of teachers in California receive their teacher-training in the CSU system, CTA Executive Director Carolyn Doggett expressed concern that many minority students are unable to go into teaching as a profession because they are not entering the state university system.
Offering testimony is Brian Laird, a recent graduate of San Jose State who teaches in Saratoga.
"We believe the CSU system must provide access for all students. It is an important vehicle of social mobility and we are very concerned that the door to social advancement is closing." Noting the many obstacles students face - from increasing costs to graduating within four years - Doggett pleaded, "We have to find a way for every qualified student to attend the CSU system. No other institution is so well-placed to reach the whole community."
Several former and current students provided testimony on the difficulty of financing their college education. Brian Laird, a graduate of San Jose State now working as a teacher in Saratoga, described the gut-wrenching decision he and his wife have made to leave the area for Sacramento because of the high cost of living in the Bay Area.
"What can be done to keep the infrastructure here? Who is going to be your police, your fire department, your teachers - because we are all leaving."
Panelist Patricia Hill, a San Jose State professor, called it a systemic problem. "The university is also having a hard time attracting and retaining faculty, for the same reason. This exodus is tragic."
Several CSU professors sounded their concerns over the university's increasing reliance on part-time lecturers who do not receive health or medical benefits and, because of their status, are not integrated into faculty life. "It's a 'Good work, goodbye' situation," said Jane Kerlinger, a geoscience professor at Chico State and vice president of CFA.
Kerlinger noted that some lecturers remain as part-time employees for as many as 10 to 20 years. When the part-timers apply for full-time positions, they endanger their appointments because they become "too expensive" for the university to hire. During a recent visit to one CSU campus, Kerlinger observed that 13 lecturers were sharing one large office furnished with one computer that wasn't even linked to the campus network
"CSU does not provide enough support to the faculty to do their best," Kerlinger charged.
A second round of hearings is scheduled on May 9 at California State University, Los Angeles. The hearings will culminate in a statewide conference. Project findings will be submitted to CSU officials, state legislators and the governor.
Dale Martin
