As one of his final official acts Gov. Gray Davis reissued anappointment to the California State University Board ofTrustees.

Susan Meisenhelder, a professor and former president of theCalifornia Faculty Association was withdrawn as the nominee andreplaced by Maria Contreras-Sweet, the secretary ofCalifornia’s Business, Housing and Transportation Agency.

Meisenhelder was a qualified candidate for the position. Shedeserved the consideration of the Senate because of her experienceas a former professor and her leadership activities within the CSUsystem.

Only one of the 19 current trustees, Kathleen Kaiser, hasexperience teaching on a CSU campus, and only six have everattended CSU schools. Two of those six are student trustees.

Faculty and students see the withdrawl of the nomination as apolitical snub of Meisenhelder initiated by CSU Chancellor CharlesReed.

According to their website, the duties of Trustees include,”communicating to the people of California an understandingand appreciation of the current effectiveness and the future needsof the California State University.”

Who better to understand and communicate the needs of the CSU toCalifornians than a professor and a former elected representativeof professors throughout the system?

Trustees also appoint chancellors.

CSU Faculty have been disappointed by contract negotiationsduring Reed’s term as chancellor. His protests indicate thatadversarial relationship.

“This is not a political position, board members must beprepared to make the best choice for the CSU system,” saidEric Guerra, a student trustee and former president of AssociatedStudents, Inc.

The State Hornet feels that Davis made a mistake by withdrawinghis original nomination of Meisenhelder after Reed and his officefiled a slew of objections.

Meisenhelder is well-prepared to voice the opinion of those oncampus. She would be a strong advocate for students, faculty andthe system as a whole on a better contract for a larger number offull-time professors and the opening of more class sections foralready impacted CSU campuses.

We encourage Gov. Schwarzenegger to appoint a second CSUprofessor to the CSU Board of Trustees with qualifications similarto that of Meisenhelder. He might even consider revisiting hernomination.