Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Tuesday, Jul. 22, 2008

Letters to the Editor: On Dean Noori

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College has outstanding dean

Y our July 14 article concerning the Cal Poly engineering dean, while fairly balanced, exaggerates the importance of complaints from five professors (out of 200).

I am a retired professor and former associate dean of engineering at the University of Southern California, currently part time at Cal Poly. From my 40 years in universities, I can state unequivocally that Mohammad Noori is an outstanding dean. He balances academic leadership, public relations and fundraising as well or better than other deans I have known. Furthermore, Dr. Noori has vision. He sees the College of Engineering growing in educational strength and influence, generating new knowledge through research and contributing to society.

From my observation, he is incredibly considerate of the needs and opinions of both faculty and students. In large institutions, even those with excellent leadership, there will be some who feel neglected and left out of the mainstream. We should not let them obscure Mohammed Noori’s performance as an outstanding dean. I predict that under his leadership the College of Engineering at Cal Poly will continue to move forward, being recognized as a major contributor to our county, the state and the nation as a whole.

George Bekey

Arroyo Grande

Rants ruin college’s reputation

I am saddened to read The Tribune’s coverage of the rantings of a handful of Cal Poly faculty members as if it were newsworthy (“Engineering dean meets resistance,” July 14). These gentlemen have pathologically sought an audience for their claims — however inaccurate — since early 2007.

Whatever motivations the gentlemen listed in the article have, it is true those concerns are not shared by the overwhelming majority in the college, nor Cal Poly’s leadership. Although the naysayers claim to have the college’s best interests in mind, their efforts to supplant an honest, sincere and good man have done more to damage the College of Engineering’s reputation than all else.

T. J. Donahoo

San Luis Obispo