SJSU president quits over health

Just two weeks into his new job, San Jose State University's president stunned the campus by resigning abruptly, citing health problems that have not been disclosed.

Monday's announcement of Paul Yu's departure leaves the 28,000-student campus without a permanent leader three weeks before the fall semester. And it means months of uncertainty for the school, which struggled for more than a year to find a suitable replacement for its popular former president, Robert Caret.

``I'm sitting here in disbelief,'' said Caret, who left San Jose to lead Towson University in Maryland. ``It makes it really difficult on the campus to be without permanent leadership for this long. I think Joe Crowley did an exceptional job as an interim and the campus was ready for Paul's leadership. It's sad to see it all fall apart.''

Yu, 62, an immigrant from China who ran a small campus in the New York public university system, was hailed as the perfect combination of academic and visionary for the diverse San Jose State campus. He followed Joseph Crowley, who served as interim president from May 2003 until last month. During that time, a search committee recommended three finalists, but California State University trustees concluded that none was a good match. A second effort led to Yu.

California State University Chancellor Charles Reed on Monday quickly named Don Kassing, a longtime campus administrator, as acting president, and said he would announce an interim president in ``the near future.'' The chancellor will appoint a new search committee to find candidates to replace Yu in the $237,000-a-year job.

Reed said he flew to San Jose on Friday to meet with Yu and his wife, Ellen, after Yu said they needed to discuss a serious matter.

``All I can say is it's a serious health problem and Paul needs to get his health back,'' Reed said Monday. ``We need to do everything we can to help him out.''

Yu was traveling to New York on Monday and could not be reached for comment. A spokesman for the State University of New York, where Yu was last employed as president of its Brockport campus, said Yu would return to the SUNY system as a tenured faculty member ``and his future will be determined in good course.''

Kassing, 62, vice president for administration and finance for the past 11 years, said the university's management team would focus primarily on getting the campus ready for its Aug. 23 opening.

``There's just a very deep regret we lost him,'' Kassing said of Yu.

Campus leaders said Monday that the university is in a good position to move ahead, even without Yu. Several initiatives launched by Crowley are proceeding, including a new charitable foundation.

Yu's decision ``came out of the blue,'' Reed said. ``It's sad and I regret it, and Paul felt badly, too. But it's one of those things you have to deal with.''

Reed said he could not discuss Yu's health but said, ``I think it's something that occurred in the last eight to 10 weeks and it didn't get any better.''

Reed said he believes Yu's decision to return to SUNY had something to do with maintaining his health insurance, which was about to expire. Reed said Yu will be on leave for a semester from SUNY, giving him time to regain his health.

Yu had hip replacement surgery before the end of the school year at Brockport.

Reed and CSU trustees said they chose Yu over another good candidate, Richard S. Jarvis, former chancellor of the Oregon University System, because Yu's vision for how to move the university forward gave him the edge. At Brockport, Yu won praise for raising academic standards and leading major planning and fundraising efforts.

Yu, whose official start date was July 15, had shown every sign he intended to stay.

He had unpacked the boxes in his office, moved into a condominium across from campus with his wife and helped his mother settle into her own apartment. He had met with the campus vice presidents, the provost and the Academic Senate leaders.

Yu even made it to the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group's annual barbecue, a prime meet-and-greet event featuring dozens of top valley executives and elected officials. At one point during the reception, San Jose State alumnus Carl Guardino noticed Yu sitting by himself away from the festivities.

``I thought perhaps he was just shy, so I offered introductions to more people,'' said Guardino, the group's president. Yu said he was resting for a few minutes and mentioned something about having had surgery, Guardino recalled.

As news of Yu's resignation spread across the leafy campus Monday, faculty members and students expressed shock at his brief tenure -- and concern over his health.

An aviation student who attempted to hand-deliver a letter to Yu on Monday morning learned of the resignation when he arrived at the president's office.

``I was shocked,'' Kenneth Pierce said. ``We had the perfect candidate. The alumni were very thrilled to have an Asian-American. To have that gone sets us all back.''

The chairman of the history department, George Vasquez, said he was sorry to see Yu go.

``He seemed different than what we've had before,'' Vasquez said. ``This guy was much more of an academician. He said he was going to do everything he could to raise academic standards. That's what we need around here.''

Annette Nellen, chairwoman of the Academic Senate, which works closely with the president, said Yu's departure was disappointing.

``It's always a concern when you don't have a president, and I think there will be a little bit of uncertainty,'' Nellen said, but, ``I think people realize we did pretty well for the last year without a permanent president.''

Not everyone was surprised by the news.

Pam Stacks, interim associate vice president for graduate studies and research, recalled that during Yu's campus visit as a candidate, he seemed fatigued by the end of the day. And when he arrived last month, she said, his schedule was tightly controlled, and some of his appointments were postponed.

``We were very fortunate someone with his intellect and capacity has given it a go,'' Stacks said.

Crowley called Yu's departure ``sad.''

``Unfortunately, what's happened has happened,'' said Crowley, who stepped down last month. ``But the campus is strong enough to weather this problem. I'm confident about the future of the university, both short term and long.''