Dyer:  This is a continuation of the history of Columbia Junior College by Richard L. Dyer, history instructor.  This particular interview is with Paul Becker, dean of student services, meritus, and long-time family friend.

Dyer:  Paul, why don’t we start with your childhood?  Maybe you could just reminisce with us for a minute as to where you were born and little bit about your parents and your brothers and…--no sisters in the family?

Becker:  No sisters.  Um, I was born in a small town, a farming town of Osford, Kansas on December twenty-seventh, 1921.  But we didn’t stay there very long.  I think maybe two years then we moved to a small town again in Colorado.  [Haches], where I really grew up.  It was a very farming town, and it seems that we had about thirty-five acres and raised all kinds of fruits.  Apples, cherries, apricots, and peaches.

Dyer:  Is that in the foothills?

Becker:  That’s--well, that’s at five-thousand feet, almost a mile high.  But in Colorado, we don’t really call those foothills, not necessarily.  I had four brothers, I was the oldest of four brothers.  My dad didn’t really like farming and he worked in the clothing store in town so the boys kind-of ran the ranch much of the time as we were growing up.  My mother--of course that was Depression times--my mother made, helped clothe and feed us by playing piano in dance bands.  [Back pattern, travel throughout the West].

Dyer:  I never thought of you as a musical aptitude.  Do you sing?  Do you dance?

Becker:  No, I do absolutely not!  My mother had all the talent.  One brother was a good musician, but that was about it.

Dyer:  So, four brothers then you went to school…?

Becker:  We went to school at Hatches highschool.  Graduated in ‘40 and as soon as I graduated, I [went to] Western State college in Garneson, which is the closest four-year college nearby.

Dyer:  You didn’t complete your education, though?  You went into the service--?

Becker:  That’s right.  I had two years then World War II broke out.  And when World War Two broke out, I signed up into the Naval Aviation Cadet Program.  I went through that training and upon graduation I received a wings and I got a commission as second lieutenant marine core and was designated as a marine core fighter pilot.  And, uh, I did all of my training on the East Coast and West Coast before I went out to the South Pacific.  I was there for thirteen months.

Dyer:  Do you think your experience as a marine flier ever effected your attitude towards education or toward your life?  I don’t sense you being a marine on the campus.

Becker:  Yeah, uh, I don’t think it did in that respect.  I think it did perhaps make me a rather strong disciplinarian.  Although my dad was a strong disciplinarian, we abided by his rules as a young person.  In the Marine Core, why that was enhanced some more and I think that most of my life was stronger [in this grace].  It was a carry-over.  As a pilot, I’m not sure there was much relation to education per se to effect it one way or another.

Dyer:  So you had two years of college education, then you entered the marine core, then you returned?

Becker:  I returned to the same college, Western State, and finished up there my final two years.  Actually, when I came back, I think they gave me about a year-and-a-half.  And at about that time I met my wife and got married.  And the day I graduated was the day of the birth of my son, our first child, on August fifteenth 1947.  So I had a family started before I had a job, really.

Dyer:  What was your educational major?

Becker:  I was majored in physical education.

Dyer:  Okay.  And then, after you received your degree with wife and first child, you moved to…?

Becker:  We moved to Western Colorado, which was a suburban Denver where I was a physical education teacher and a coach in football and basketball at the time, on the first job.  I would be there three years then my first daughter, Barbara, was born there in 1949.  And then in 1950, I’d been there three years and I decided that it was important for me to get a Master’s Degree.  And I made an application to both Stanford University and Columbia University and I was accepted at both but we decided that the West Coast was the place to go so I came out to Stanford to get my Masters, planning on returning to Colorado because that was home and I had a successful teaching job at West Minister.  But when we got to Stanford and started to know the program, why there were lots of jobs available.  We investigated the possibility of getting a job here and I got a job at San José high school in 1950 as the basketball coach and physical education instructor.
            So that kept us in California.  My parents were kind of upset about it, as was the principle.  I had left him but we had become good friends and he didn’t want to lose me, I guess.  But we thought that California had more opportunity for us, perhaps, than Colorado.  So we took that job.

Dyer:  You were in San José and that greater area when it underwent enormous transformation.

Becker:  It was beautiful.  We went through in 1950.  [?] I think there was nineteen thousand people, that’s all, and there was a difference going from San José to Santa Clara, for example, to Sunnyvale; they were all designated towns, all strung together.  And mostly orchards.  At that time, it produced a third of all produce in the world--lots of melons, lots of apricots--and, of course if the skies are clean, you can see mountains on both sides any time, day or night.  That, of course, changed rapidly.

Dyer:  Then from San José high school you went to..?

Becker:  What happened then (was) in 1954, ‘53 actually, the legislature passed a bill saying that Junior Colleges could no-longer become a part of institutions.  And San José, the junior college, was a part of the San José state system.  And even though it was out of the unified system,why they just paid the unified system some ADA funds and kept it that way while other state colleges were getting healthy on that and legislators felt that it was not wise so they passed a bill changing that.  San José Junior College was started in ‘54 and I went out--I was transferred, actually, from San José high school--to San José Junior College as the athletic director and basketball coach and help with football coach, and Health Ed. because I had done a lot of Health Ed. work at Stanford when I was getting my Masters.

Dyer:  Did the Junior College have its campus at that time?

Becker:  It did.  What it did was that they had opened a fairly new San José technical high school and they just put some portals out there and they would just dump the college on that, thinking it wouldn’t amount to a lot and that it would become a technical junior college but it just grew by leaps and bounds.
            At that time there was no other junior colleges around there; there was no West Valley, there wasn’t a [Diane’s?], there was no Foothill, there wasn’t a [Gatelin].  It was the only junior college in the whole area.

Dyer:  And people tended to go to the junior college?

Becker:  Yeah, immediately.  The vocation programs, the apprentice programs, and then at the same time, while the state colleges were starting to become difficult to get into, it just became natural.  The timing became right.  Of course, financing was good in those days; there seemed to be enough money to build and so-forth.

Dyer:  Well, I think many of us found our future was to graduate from the local high school and the local junior college because that was the time I was going into as well.

Becker:  Now, that certainly happened too.  And being the only one there at the time while we drew from the whole Santa Clara Valley, practically from San Mateo, south.  And so the growth was just very fast and there was no stopping it.  I kept that position and going counseling as well until 1960.  And I had kind-of quasi-administrator, helping out in the admissions and records office and things at the time.  Then a position opened there so I got out of the teaching and went into administration at admissions and records.

Dyer:  Did you apply for the position at Columbia?  Columbia was first established in 1968.

Becker:  No, I did not.  It was an interesting thing; I knew there was a new college up here and all, but the first thing that attracted me was all those PG&E bulkheads you get with your bill, there was a little lake there one time--yeah, it was really interesting--and I said “gosh, wouldn’t that be nice?”  Because my family and I did come up here an awful lot for fishing and camping so we thought we’d come and look at it.  The college at the time didn’t really have any student services - I think Bob [Deal?] was kind-of handling what there was and the registration took care of itself and the finances and so forth.  But when they announced the job in 1971, why of course we became interested at that time and applied for the job at Columbia and was fortunate to receive the position.

Dyer:  What was the interview like?  Everyone talks about interviews.

Becker:  Yeah, that was a different story back in those days.  At least at Columbia, there was a tremendous number of applicants--something like one hundred-eighty applicants or something, I was told.  But I made the finals and President Dusty Rhodes led me into his office at eight, eight-thirty, or whatever it was.  I came in and chatted a little while and went back.  We would go back in and talk to students then go in and talk with the classified staff.It’s like meeting and talking with the classified staff and then just faculty, to meet and talk with them.  I was in and out of his office quite a little bit then during the meeting--there was a board meeting--so he took me down to meet our local rep Don Brady, who I had met back in San José.  In a sense, it was an interesting day.  I hadn’t gone through one quite like that where I was talking to groups like that in an interview-type situation.  It was, of course, a different situation than now.

Dyer:  It was a full day!

Becker:  It was a full day.

Dyer:  Did others go through this as well?

Becker:  Yes.  As you know, Fran Collin was one of the candidates at the time--

Dyer:  --But did they all go through the same procedure?

Becker:  They all went through the same procedure.  We’re not sure how many went through that same procedure, about six or seven as far as I know.  I know Fran had the same process.  And I’ve talked with some people either in recent years recall the same kind of situation they were put through to [be here] at Columbia.  I enjoyed it, of course, it seemed to be fun for me; I was having a good time with it.  I think the students put me on the spot better than anybody.  They wondered what I could do for them, you know, that kind of thing.

Dyer:  ‘Where’s the swimming pool going to be?’ and those sorts of things?

Becker:  Yeah.  Never Aaron Lorbert, who was kind of a late [bloomer?] and Normand Prinis, who is now in the chancellor’s office.   I’m trying to think of more of them that day, but there were four or five of them who went in-and-out for a long time.  It seemed like an hour more from each group.

Dyer:  All of our jobs have a specific description.  Can you condense or describe yours?

Becker:  I’ve been asked that several times by newspaper people and I always say that my job in the college is that I have the responsibility for all areas except instruction or business services.  And it’s kind of set that way because Business Services, I don’t get into except the [home budget] and instruction, I don’t get into except the area I’ve been in, which is the general skills development center.  But, generally speaking, everything else has to do with the college.  It involves the [unveiling?] of student services, or, it has here.

Dyer:  Is such a catch-all type of description….is that something that’s personally suited to you or your temperament or is that a kind of thing that evolved over a period of time?  Or, maybe as a last thought, is it something not most can handle something that’s so wide open?

Becker:  Yeah, I think student services are a lot like that now.  It’s a lot different than San José, it has much of the same areas to cover, but--you see--I had an administrator under me who is responsible for it.  Like how I have a dean of counselling who reported to me.  I have a dean of admissions and records who reported to me.  I had a campus policeman who reported to me.  I had a doctor who reported to me.  I had a  dean of student activities who reported to me.  I didn’t deal with the students or the staff as close.  You have a somewhat same thing but you have other administrators who run it.
            Up here, being small, you’re it; you’re the administrator.  You have very few others that you can lean on to get it done.  And by nature I like that.  My nature is such--you know me--I like to have my hands in everything and know what’s going on -- have have control.  So it’s kind of a natural thing for me.  I remember even in college I was that kind of person.  I was in everything and involved with the whole dog-gone sheer.  And I think that’s because it’s a natural thing.
            How that fits other people, I think that depends on them.  Some can’t deal with that kind of thing coming at you at all different directions from minute to minute.  You’re talking about financial aid then, you know, some guy on campus [is about to quite] to some dog loose on campus, you know.

Dyer:  All at the wrong time!

Becker:  You’re right!  But it’s sometimes you get frustrated because so many things happen at once that it causes you to think of problems you would agonize over.  Generally speaking, I loved it.  I had to be busy and be involved.

Dyer:  Are you a workaholic?

Becker:  I've been [labeled a] workaholic once.  Some people, they, [say] ‘this person is a workaholic’...--

Dyer:  --You put in a lot of hours.  You’re never inactive, you’re always doing something.  You were bored when I walked into here because there was not much going on.

Becker:  If that’s a workaholic then I suppose I am a workaholic.  I don’t shun away from work.  You know, a job has to be done and I’m going to do it no matter what time it takes or whatever is involved; it’s just my nature.  I don’t know that I’m a workaholic, that is.

Dyer:  Well, on the campus we talk about your role as a dog catcher?  Could you elaborate on that a bit?  Is that real?

Becker:  Well, when we started early on as you remember, I guess that was called the “hippy days.”  There were a lot of dogs and, of course, we were trying to keep dogs off campus for, I think, a good reason.  I figured we’d be overrun by them and they can cause problems so it got to a point--and at that time, we didn’t have any security--and if there was a dog on campus, I would always call.  And I always carried a little choker chain and gloves here on my [tray] and I would run, try and capture the dog.  The students would be pretty good about it, though sometimes they would be upset that I had got their dog locked up in an air-conditioned room and release them out of there whenever they were ready to take them back.  But it used to be quite a battle.  Anymore, we don’t see many people trying to bring their dogs on campus--I have a security person that takes care of these things-- but I think that the funny story here that people looked at was the Dean per se was the dog catcher.  You know, we pay him enough for that kind of work, I think.  It’s always that kind of tongue-in-cheek fun thing.

Dyer:  If you single-out one of your responsibilities as the most rewarding, that would you say that would have to be?

Becker:  I think probably seeing the students meet their goals.  Much of that is in the classroom but there’s so much development going on outside the classroom that I was responsible for like getting them into their classes, their registration, their financial aid, their health, all these other services that are a part of the school.  Great accumulation that allows them to meet their goal.  I’m always saying that I am the happiest at graduation because you have this group of students that have reached their goal; they are going to go on to another school and hopefully do well.  Some are already out on the job.  The aspect most satisfying that I like the best is when I see people who have struggled through and reached the goal.  Maybe I had been some part or my services or organizations that I supervise have played some part to help them reach that goal.

Dyer:  I was glad that you were able to say something about the graduation.  It seems to me that this is a special graduation.  It’s something that is the most unique and I think that a lot of us feel very good about it and maybe it’s a culmination of these many steps along the way that you have certainly had a part in helping them along.

Becker:  It is special at Columbia.  You know, and I haven’t been to a lot of other community colleges, but other colleges, but what I’m aware of is that every student is treated as special.  They aren’t just a large group or a name on a pull-out or something.  It’s small enough that they’re involved and part of the program as much as possible.  It’s a delightful sight and I’m grateful that the faculty is able to participate one hundred percent.  [Earlier down the road], with my prior experience, that wasn’t the case.  And it is more special at Columbia than any other place that I am aware and have been aware of.

Dyer:  [A lesson an hour too!]

Becker:  Yeah, and I think we’ve got it down right into an hour.  Except I think that’s where I talk too long.  The fact that it’s such a pretty place and we do what we can to have the students go through it - I mean, we’ve got free rooms if they can’t afford it and we give them every kind of a break and I think they appreciate that and ads to a total program.  I think it’s critical in all of it, pretty much so.  I hope that that tradition never leaves.

Dyer:  Well, I think this is a good response because I can sense it would be very easy to think of all of those assignments such as being a dog catcher or a disciplinarian that would tend to detract from the positive attitude that you have towards the students you serve.

Becker:  I always try to keep that [because] there are a lot of negatives.  I’m not a negative person; never had a negative attitude, or get up tight, [not to say that I do get up tight], or get mad at some things that happen or some students - whatever it might be.  But, basically, being positive and looking for the good things and enjoying the good things for your [sake?].

Dyer:  Going out tired and going out hungry and…

Becker:  No.

Dyer:  There are so many people I’ve read about just recently that are just throwing up their hands and saying “I can’t take it anymore!”

Becker:  No, I can take it on.  You know, but I think I see my limitations too.  I’ve been in it for four years and I am sixty-five years of age, and it just seems like those numbers were good numbers.  You don’t get any more of your retirement, unless you put in more now, because you’re pretty much at your maximum.  And there are some critical things that are going to be difficult and it’s probably someone else’s turn, but now it’s my turn to start enjoying life in another way.

Dyer:  Very healthy attitude you have there.  You’ve had to have difficult assignments.  Are there specific areas that you think of to be your most difficult? - The most challenging?

Becker:  Again, the most difficult challenge is being a positive person.  You know, some days admissions and records is absolutely the worst and two days later it’s the best and, you know, it’s awfully hard.  We’ve had frustrations up and down, (like) registration frustrations.  We were going from a card system into a computerized one which caused a lot of frustration.  It still does when the terminals are down.  When I had the cafeteria, which I no longer have that responsibility, that was a frustrating experience.  Again, it’s difficult to satisfy everyone in a cafeteria-type food situation.  You know, not everyone is all-happy.  That was a battle for me.  Until I got help with security that was, of course, a problem.  We’ve had our problems in building the physical education facility.  That has been a battle that has been going on for seventy-four years.  I think that most recently the student housing thing was the most frustrating situation.  But there are no things, Dick, that frustrate me to such an extent that it got me down.

Dyer:  Did you take it home with you?

Becker:  No, it is very seldom that I ever take things home with me.  If I did, I soon got it out of my system and [keep it out] all night.

Dyer:  The staff….The teaching situation here and the administrating situation…

Becker:  Yeah, I think that’s right.  Back at San José, which is a large institution, there was much more difficulty and a lot more support.  It’s going back to what we talked about earlier; how I’m one of those who like to have their hands in everything and my lifestyle and Columbia fit because of that.  You know I know all the faculty and I know all the staff and know them well.  I know a large number of students.  I may not know them all by name, but I know them well enough so that we can have conversations and so-forth.  And I just think that this was just made for me, I guess.  I’m a very...really honored that I have the opportunity to work at this institution.  It has good presidents that I report to and certain good staff that work for me.  I have a lot of loyalty and I don’t know if there’s much more I can ask for.  I have a strong [base]--

Dyer:  --Let me flip this over.

END TAPE
Interviewer: Richard L Dyer
Interviewee: Paul Becker
When: 1987
Transcriber:  John P Hire
Transcribed: 27 May 2020