SR 10-04 - Commendation A. McNeill

WHEREAS, Dr. Alex McNeill served Channel Islands as its first Vice President for Academic Affairs from 2001-2003, and

WHEREAS, his contributions to establishing majors, planning campus structures and developing campus policies, and hiring the second round of faculty helped build the strong foundation upon which CI’s success has been built, from its first years to the present, and

WHEREAS, in his role as a faculty member of University Studies from 2003-2006, Dr. McNeill created and co-taught courses in an array of interesting topics such as wellness, kinesiology, and critical thinking, and

WHEREAS, as Director of Liberal Studies from 2006-2010, Dr. McNeill served as a member of CI’s assessment team, helping the university to achieve its first WASC accreditation in 2007 for the maximum number of years possible, and

WHEREAS, Dr. McNeill guided the Liberal Studies Program through a successful external review, and nearly 100 students through creating their individualized degree program in Concentrated Studies during his tenure as their Director, and

WHEREAS, in his role as faculty in the School of Education from 2006-2010, Dr. McNeill contributed to the development of its Conceptual Framework and to the creation of policies that continue to guide the School’s work with the students and communities it serves, and

WHEREAS, Dr. McNeill’s participation on the Project Vista proposal-writing team in 2010 helped CI to become one of twenty-one institutions nationwide to receive a Promoting Postbaccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans award through the U.S. Department of Education, and

WHEREAS, Dr. McNeill led the School of Education in the final year of his career in higher education during a key transition in its leadership,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that we, the faculty of the CSU Channel Islands Academic Senate do hereby express our admiration and our thanks to Dr. Alex McNeill for his honest and ethical leadership, his devotion to decency, logic and fairness, and his humility and humor.

HAPPY TRAILS IN MONTANA, Alex. May your line be straight, your fly dry, and your hook never catch tree trout.