An upbeat welcome
New SJSU president tells campus to ‘ believe’ in the valley’s public university
SAN JOSE — She invoked Steve Jobs. She vowed to embrace the social-justice legacy of what she called “Silicon Valley’s public university.” Then San Jose State’s new president led an amused audience Thursday in a spontaneous “happy birthday” serenade of her provost.
The lighthearted moment on the second day of classes showed the ease with which Mary Papazian appears to be settling into her challenging role at the diverse, 31,000-student campus — a place, not long ago, that was fraught with turmoil and discord.
After the tumultuous tenure of Mo Qayoumi, who left abruptly in mid-2015, and the stabilizing influence of interim president Sue Martin, many hope the charismatic leader will help San Jose State tap into its potential.
“She’s very open, very quick and not afraid to make deci- sions,” said Michael Parrish, dean of the College of Science, after the address. “She has a very strong presence. It’s something this campus really needed.”
Papazian, 57, an English literature scholar and the third woman to lead San Jose State, was named in late January
“Just to clear up any doubts, I’m not going anywhere. I’mhere for the long haul.” — Mary Papazian, San Jose State president
and officially began July 1. The university recruited her from Southern Connecticut State University, a 11,000-student school in New Haven where she was president for four years.
Born, raised and educated in Southern California, where she earned degrees from UCLA, Papazian — whose name is pronounced pa-PAH-zee-en — has returned to her home state after 28 years at universities in the Midwest and on the East Coast.
Finally back home, she has pledged to put down roots. “Just to clear up any doubts, I’m not going anywhere,” she told the audience. “I’m here for the long haul.”
Among her priorities: improving the campus’s four-year graduation rate, now hovering around 10 percent, and the lagging completion rates of AfricanAmerican and Latino students, who for years have demanded greater support from the campus.
The long-simmering grievances of black students exploded in late 2013 with news that an AfricanAmerican freshman had been tormented for months by his white suitemates, who displayed a Confederate flag in the room. San Jose State has since hired its first-ever chief diversity officer, Kathleen Wong(Lau), and plans to soon launch resource centers for black and Latino students as well as those whose families entered the country illegally.
“Once we start to create equity and social justice, our campus climate is going to improve,” Hector Perea, the new student body presi- dent said after Papazian’s address. “I know that we are off to a good start.”
In her speech, Papazian acknowledged the work of her predecessor, Martin, who calmed tensions during the past year and whipped the San Jose campus into shape for her arrival. She recognized new hires on campus. She invited the deans and vice presidents — and then the faculty and students — in the crowd to stand up.
She told Perea: “We’re in this together.”
“This isn’t the same campus it was two years ago, one year ago,” Papazian said in an interview Thurs- day. “I venture to say that it has been a long time since San Jose State has had the kind of collective leadership it has now.”
Papazian will be paid $371,000 — a salary set by CSU’s policy on executive compensation — a few dollars less than Qayoumi received. She will also receive a $12,000 annual car allowance.
Cathleen Miller, an English professor who directs San Jose State’s Center for Literary Arts, hopes Papazian’s academic background will be a boon to the humanities.
“After years of seeing funding siphoned off from the humanities,” she said, “we’re hopeful that a new president with a doctorate in English — someone who quotes Donne and Milton — will understand the value the arts bring to education.”
Few students attended the event, but Bridgette Cervantes and Lina Alotri, both senior transfer students majoring in management information systems, rushed to the ballroom after class to hear what she had to say.
“I like her,” Cervantes said. “She seems like a very genuine person. She seems to pay attention to what the students need.”
Papazian said the campus should expect thoughtful change and clear communication under her leadership. She drew applause when she quipped that “some of our science labs belong in a science museum.”
But the room was quiet when she posed a more serious question: “Can we be known as the nation’s preeminent metropolitan public university?” There was a pause. “You’re not sure,” she said. “You’ve got to believe.”