Ambrosetti
Appointed
Associate Vice President for Faculty Affairs
Ronald
J. Ambrosetti already had his master's degree and
eventually got his doctorate — after the Army called him up in 1969
"I got drafted and ended up being an academic in a very strange way," says Ambrosetti, the new associate vice president for Faculty Affairs.
In the late sixties, with war raging in Southeast Asia, the Army called up Ambrosetti and gave him two options: He could go to Vietnam with his master's degree in English, or he could pursue his doctorate while stationed at Fort Sam Houston.
Ambrosetti chose Texas, commuting by helicopter to study at Baylor University and later at the University of Texas before obtaining his PH.D. in English at Bowling Green University.
Three decades later, his winding career path in higher education has brought Ambrosetti — professor, Fulbright senior lecturer, administrator — from the East Coast to the West Coast and to Dominguez Hills.
"He has an impressive record of publications and other scholarly activity, as well as service in campus, community and professional organizations," said Donald S. Castro, vice president, Academic Affairs, announcing the appointment.
Ambrosetti's responsibilities will include the administration of faculty personnel policies and procedures; interaction with the Academic Senate to develop personnel policies; faculty recruitment, faculty tenure, retention and promotion; and, collective bargaining matters.
He assumed his new duties Aug. 1. Kent Porter, former Interim Associate Vice President is reassigned to director, Faculty Affairs.
"My goals here are to establish a credible, effective team and to build a bridge that can establish an avenue of communication with the Office of the Vice President, Academic Affairs," Ambrosetti says.
"Though I am new here, I have admired California State University from afar. I am familiar with the terrain, having worked in a large, public system, the [State University of New York] SUNY, for many years."
He started his career in 1969 as an instructor in English at Bowling Green University. While on active duty with the Army, he continued as an assistant professor in the Allied Programs at Baylor, where he later served as assistant to the dean of instruction.
In 1976, Ambrosetti moved to SUNY College at Fredonia, first as an assistant professor of English for six years, then as an associate professor for 12 years. During that time, he was also a Fulbright Senior Lecturer in American Studies at Coimbra University in Portugal.
At SUNY, his responsibilities shifted with his new assignments: Professor of English; chairperson, Department of English; associate dean, Arts and Sciences; and, associate dean, Faculty.
In 1997, Ambrosetti moved to Roger Williams University, where he served as dean, College of Arts and Sciences, until his appointment at Dominguez Hills.
In his new role, Ambrosetti's primary objective is to develop and nurture the relationships among various faculty constituencies at Dominguez Hills and the Academic Affairs unit.
"Dominguez Hills has a first-rate faculty and one of my goals is to facilitate the continuation of the quality of faculty teaching, scholarly activity and service," says Ambrosetti.
He notes that recruiting new faculty relates to successfully recruiting new students. Through faculty expertise, we insure academic program quality and pertinence to student career needs, and the university remains vital and current.
"We need to be ready to adapt to the needs of our students, not only in the academic sense of what they want from the university, but also in the real sense of what they need to live and compete and be part of the real world."
After all, the real world, between war and peace, the Army and academia, is where he trained.
"I had a job lined up at Michigan State after I got my master'sÉ. But, the way things worked out," Ambrosetti comments, "I benefited from the places I've been, the people I've met, and the things I've done."
- T.W.
