Albert C. Yates 1990 - 2003 |
University Presidents |
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Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, Yates served in the U.S. Navy prior to pursuing his college education. In 1965, he received his bachelor's degree specializing in chemistry and mathematics from Memphis State University and subsequently earned a Ph.D. degree in theoretical chemical physics from Indiana University. Yates had transcended the oppressive circumstances of a segregated Southern society to achieve notable academic success. After completing graduate studies, he obtained valuable experience as an academic administrator at the University of Cincinnati and Washington State University. Yates arrived at Fort Collins to find CSU confronted by much unfinished business. A new strategic planning process was in place that required each unit of the University to conduct a self-study and provide a plan. Departments with convincing plans obtained support; those with poor plans found their resources reduced and shifted to more deserving programs. Another serious unresolved difficulty concerned the condition of the Main Campus. There had been a serious decline in the aesthetic character, safety, and usefulness of many campus buildings. A new master plan was devised to remedy those problems. CSU had also lagged in its ability to meet state and federally-mandated guidelines for Affirmative Action. Again, a coherent planning process, involving the entire CSU community, brought some notable improvements. One of President Yates' early frustrations concerned CSU's absence of a discernable sense of community. He tried to reduce the acrimony that existed between units by promoting a more equitable salary scale, but longstanding animosities were difficult to eliminate. Yates believed that a properly managed intercollegiate athletics program might have public relations benefits and even contribute to a sense of community provided that it upheld the university's ethical code. In the 1992, despite highly rancorous criticism, he fired football coach Earle Bruce for violating this ethical standard. On July 28, 1997, CSU experienced a devastating flood that inundated the Main Campus. Yates used the occasion to motivate the University by defining this crisis as "an opportunity for CSU to become a better place than it had been before." His strong leadership imbued the school with a sense of accomplishment in coping with the myriad problems of recovery. The campus emerged from the flood vastly improved, both aesthetically and functionally. Yates truly understood the manifold requirements of leading a major university, implementing ideas into action, and doing so with honesty and integrity. His thirteen-year tenure brought CSU badly needed stability and substantively advanced its threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service. |
