California State University Chancellor Reed Announces Retirement
LONG BEACH (CBS SF) - California State University Chancellor Charles Reed announced Thursday he would retire at the end of the year, and remain in his post until the trustees hire a replacement.
Reed said he was stepping down to spend more time with his family in Florida. Before becoming head of the CSU system in 1998, he spent 13 years in charge of the Florida State University system.
Budget constraints were not the driving factor in his decision to retire, Reed said, even as he acknowledged his frustration at losing more than $1 billion in state funding in recent years.
"I know there's never a good time to leave, but in the last six or seven years, we've reduced our budget every year," he said.
"We're going to have to reinvest in California's future and California's students if we're going to turn this economy around."
CSU cut more than 3,000 faculty and raised tuition six years in a row because of the state budget crisis.
Reed said it was difficult turning away 20,000 eligible students because of the tight budget.
"I really regret that. But we've kept the system going," he said.
"I feel that we've done the best we could with the resources that have been provided.
Reed said He is also very proud to have signed more than a million diplomas over his 14-year tenure at the 23-campus system.
"I am proud of the system focusing on students first and taking care of students the very best that we could."
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