University officials defend Serrano hire
By: Karl Zynda
Issue date: 11/28/07 Section: Opinion
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"I'm thrilled to be home," Dave Serrano said when he returned after a three-year hiatus at UC Irvine to be Cal State Fullerton's head baseball coach.
CSUF administrators say successful coaching and attention to the education of his players qualify him to be head coach more than his bachelor's degree from Trinity College and University.
The self-described "organization" awards degrees based on "life experience" for a fee, with no classes or tests.
It says that it has "helped thousands of people achieve their desired goals; goals which without the correct certification would have been unattainable."
But Serrano's degree from this school is good enough to be accepted by CSUF administrators as fulfilling the degree requirement for head coaches.
DEFENDING THE DECISION
Members of the executive administration of CSUF hire head coaches.
According to a complex set of laws and CSU policies, a search committee is not required.
Patty Sexton, personnel director for the CSUF athletic department, said CSUF President Milton Gordon had final approval of Serrano's hire. Robert Palmer, vice president of Student Affairs, confirmed this and clarified the hiring process.
"[Athletic Director] Brian Quinn and I make the selection of the final candidate, and we recommend to the president. We recommend, and he appoints, but he's not going to appoint anyone we don't recommend, I can guarantee you that," Palmer said.
Quinn and Palmer defended their selection of Serrano while insisting there should be a degree requirement for head coaches.
"Since we are an institution of higher learning, we would like to see the people who enter positions of responsibility to have degrees," Quinn said.
Yet when asked where education ranked in the importance of qualifications for a head coach, both men emphasized the importance of experience.
"What's really important about a baseball coach - what I look for in a coach - is how do they coach the game? How did they learn to coach? They have probably played some at a high level, then apprenticed as assistant head coach, coached at clinics, coached at camps where they really learned their skills and gained knowledge. That's not a textbook thing," Quinn said.
CSUF administrators say successful coaching and attention to the education of his players qualify him to be head coach more than his bachelor's degree from Trinity College and University.
The self-described "organization" awards degrees based on "life experience" for a fee, with no classes or tests.
It says that it has "helped thousands of people achieve their desired goals; goals which without the correct certification would have been unattainable."
But Serrano's degree from this school is good enough to be accepted by CSUF administrators as fulfilling the degree requirement for head coaches.
DEFENDING THE DECISION
Members of the executive administration of CSUF hire head coaches.
According to a complex set of laws and CSU policies, a search committee is not required.
Patty Sexton, personnel director for the CSUF athletic department, said CSUF President Milton Gordon had final approval of Serrano's hire. Robert Palmer, vice president of Student Affairs, confirmed this and clarified the hiring process.
"[Athletic Director] Brian Quinn and I make the selection of the final candidate, and we recommend to the president. We recommend, and he appoints, but he's not going to appoint anyone we don't recommend, I can guarantee you that," Palmer said.
Quinn and Palmer defended their selection of Serrano while insisting there should be a degree requirement for head coaches.
"Since we are an institution of higher learning, we would like to see the people who enter positions of responsibility to have degrees," Quinn said.
Yet when asked where education ranked in the importance of qualifications for a head coach, both men emphasized the importance of experience.
"What's really important about a baseball coach - what I look for in a coach - is how do they coach the game? How did they learn to coach? They have probably played some at a high level, then apprenticed as assistant head coach, coached at clinics, coached at camps where they really learned their skills and gained knowledge. That's not a textbook thing," Quinn said.
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dave q
posted 11/28/07 @ 11:17 AM PST
Serrano was the front runner for the Tennessee and Oregon jobs until they learned of his Trinity degree and turned him down.
The Cal State Fullerton faithful would rather sadly turn their heads the other way on this issue and sweep it under the rug. (Continued…)
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