Unveiled - Humboldt Magazine - Humboldt State University

[ News in Brief ]
Top Rung Alum named California's Chief Firefighter
TRYING TO MANAGE FIRE-
FIGHTING for a state as large
and complex as California is
an enormous task. Throw in a
practically year-round fire season
and big budget cuts and it
gets even tougher. Good thing
Del Walters is up to the job.
The 1977 HSU alum was
recently named director of Cal
Fire, the state agency responsible
for managing wildfire in
Del Walters (‘77)
California. Walters, who has
been with the agency for more
than 30 years, began as a firefighter in 1971. He has been a fire
apparatus engineer, a fire captain, a forester, a battalion chief
and an executive officer.
Walters faces a bevy of challenges in his new position. Fire
seasons in California are becoming longer and more intense due
to factors including accumulation of forest fuels and climate
change. State budget cuts compound the situation.
“The period of time when California burns keeps getting
longer,” Walters says. “We’re only budgeted to be at increased
staffing for a certain period of time. And now we’re fighting fires
sooner and ending later than that budgeted period. It’s something
we’ll have to address very soon.”
One key approach to addressing the extended fire season
is prevention.
“The best way to not have these large fires and spend lots of
money is to spend money up front to keep them small,” he says.
“That’s job number one for me.”
While a student in HSU’s Department of Forestry, he studied
silviculture—the establishment and propagation of healthy
forests—but then returned to battling blazes.
“When I graduated I fully expected to go into a more sciencebased
career. But firefighting gets in your blood. Plus, I had a
permanent job within two weeks of graduating from Humboldt,
so that made a big difference.”
When he’s not traveling the state on business, Walters works
from his 15 th floor office overlooking the state Capitol in Sacramento,
Calif.
“When a boy grows up and wants a job where he can be
outside, you never envision yourself in a high-rise,” Walters says.
“Up until this point I said the best job I ever had was as battalion
chief in Sonoma County, but this new one is shaping up to be the
all-time best.”
Budget Pressure
THE FINANCIAL CHALLENGES IN California
and nationwide have led to what
officials are calling a fiscal emergency at
Humboldt State University.
This summer, even as the campus
prepared for its largest freshman class
ever, it was scrambling to deal with an
unprecedented budget shortfall of more
than $12 million. Uncertainty about
budget talks at the state Capitol made
the challenge even greater.
But as difficult as the current year is,
it’s just part of a more troubling story – an
apparent retreat from California’s commitment
to affordable higher education.
It’s a trend that could threaten California’s
economic growth for years to come.
Over the last decade, state funding
for the California State University system
(which includes Humboldt State) has been
CSU Full-Time Undergraduate Fees Fall 1979–2009
Does not include campus-specific fees, which vary. At HSU, they are $1,009.
flat – falling well short of the rising costs
of health benefits, insurance, technology
and the like. This year, it’s worse. The state
budget leaves the system in the hole by
$564 million, with state general fund allocations
dropping to $1.6 billion.
CSU campuses have been forced to start
turning away qualified students. A year from
now, the CSU expects overall enrollment to
decline from about 250,000 to 210,000.
Meanwhile, student fees have
jumped from $1,428 to $4,026 since
1999 (not including campus-specific
fees, which at HSU are $1,009). That’s still
relatively low by national standards, but
three decades ago their parents were
paying just $144 (or approximately $422
in today’s dollars).
10 HUMBOLDT MAGAZINE | FALL 2009