Donald DeRosa leaves behind a University of the Pacific very different from the one he took charge of as president in 1995

 

By Jennie Rodriguez
Record Staff Writer

June 28, 2009 6:00 AM

STOCKTON – Fifteen years ago, University of the Pacific’s outlook was bleak.

There were accreditation problems, declining enrollment, financial shortfalls, governance issues and low morale among faculty.

Any one of those issues could have been a deterrent for candidates seeking to be Pacific’s next president.

What Donald DeRosa saw were opportunities for change.

“The main attraction was the university’s history. It was the first in California to be chartered. A university that picked itself up entirely and moved in 1924 from the Bay Area to Stockton. There was also a board with a wonderful chair, (the late) Bob Monagan, ready and prepared to move forward. … Many of the issues were solvable and rectifiable.”

[ More at the Stockton Record ]

~ by John Sterni on June 29, 2009.