After five years as dean of Sacramento State’s College of Arts and Letters, Jeffrey Mason is ready to retire and go back to his first passion – directing plays and performing onstage.

“For me, retirement is just a way to do the things that I like to do that don’t necessarily have to. I found that during the kind of job I’ve had as the dean of the college, the word that comes to mind is demanding,” Mason said. “I’m always thinking about the college, how to help the college and how to get the job done. By retiring, I lose that responsibility. I can focus on (other things like) theater, acting and directing.”

Mason said he has had the privilege of working with “wonderful” department chairs with whom he collaborated in almost all aspects of his job &- including discussing how to cope with the budget cuts.

“One of the most difficult and serious challenges we’re all facing is keeping the university running and keeping the quality high and the level of service to the students high in spite of the budget cuts,” Mason said. “I have had some very productive discussions with the (department) chairs on different approaches to reducing the budget.”

Joe Sheley, provost and vice president for academic affairs, said Mason has been a “practical dean” throughout his five years at Sac State.

“(He) understands the implications of California’s budget situation and works hard with his college to try to keep things at the highest level possible,” Sheley said.

In addition to his role as dean, Mason is also interested in the politics of gay marriage and organized a community conference about Proposition 8 in October 2009.

“I was not interested in debating the merits of the proposition itself. What interested me more was the (question) of “How do we, as a community, continue to live and work together although we disagree on very different issues?'” Mason said. “It interested me as a citizen and as an artist &- I want to be able to make art sometimes on difficult questions.”

Before coming to Sac State, Mason was head of the University of Oregon’s department of theater arts for four and a half years. He had also been a theater professor at CSU Bakersfield for 17 years.

Mason, who comes from a family of performers, first acted on stage when he was 6-years-old and directed his first play when he was a senior in high school.

“My father was a singer and later taught music. It was (like) a family business for me,” he said.

Mason said he hopes Sac State would finally be able to start “rebuilding” the college, and hire new faculty and tenure-track faculty.

“We are seeing tenure-track faculty shrink every year. In a typical year, I lose about 12 people (due to) retirement or resignation. I have not hired anybody for the past two years,” he said. “When the budget turns around, I hope (Sac State) begins hiring and starts rebuilding the college. It is very exciting, hiring new faculty and rebuilding departments.”

All in all, Mason remains positive about Sac State’s future.

“In 10, 20 years from now … maybe the departments will be different from the way they are. I see a bright future for rebuilding this college, which will be all the stronger for the measures we have taken over the past several years. I shall watch from a distance and wish (Sac State) well,” he said.

Cayla Gales and Kristine Guerra contributed to this report.

Laila Barakat can be reached at [email protected].