David Allen Dowell

Dr. David Allen Dowell, 65, of Long Beach, CA, passed away on Tuesday October 25, 2016. His death is the result of a suspected heart attack during a cycling ride in the Palos Verdes Mountains.
David was born in Nashville, Tennessee to Daisie and Paul Dowell on September 25, 1951.  He graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville with a Master’s and Doctorate of Psychology. He moved to California in 1977 where he began his career at California State University, Long Beach. In his 39 years there, he served as a professor and department chair of psychology, dean of the college of liberal arts, vice provost, and provost of the university. He married his wife, Nancy Manriquez on December 15, 1984.
In addition to his successful career, David enjoyed many hobbies which included cycling, tennis, gardening, and reading. He was also a passionate supporter of the arts and loved jazz music, his most recent affinity being for Barcelona Gypsy Klezmer Music.
David is survived by his wife Nancy, his brother and sister, Paul and Nancy, and his three daughters, Maria Elena, Laura Ann, and Julia Rose.
David’s Celebration of Life will take place at the Earl Burns Japanese Gardens at CSULB on Saturday November 12th at 2:00 p.m. All are welcome to attend and are invited to wear Hawaiian shirts in honor of David.

"In lieu of flowers, please donate to The David Dowell Memorial Fund for Student Support at CSULB"

California State University Long Beach

1250 Bellflower Blvd.  Brotman Hall #395

Long Beach, CA 90840

For further information call 562-985-5198

David Dowell, the former interim provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs at Cal State Long Beach, died suddenly Tuesday at the age of 65.

Campus officials received a report that Dowell suffered a heart attack but could not confirm the details of his cause of death.

President Jane Close Conoley said in a statement to the university that Dowell was a “champion and advocate for students.”

“Many of the national accolades we received for growth in graduation and retention rates and reducing opportunity gaps can be attributed to his leadership and tireless efforts to improve student outcomes,” Conoley said.

Dowell had retired in June after 37 years of service. He served as interim provost from July 2013 until his retirement. Over the course of his career he held a variety of positions on campus, including professor of psychology, department chair, dean, director of strategic planning and a vice provost.

Dowell earned a degree in psychology from Middle Tennessee State University in 1973, before earning his master’s degree and doctorate from the University of Tennessee.

He was instrumental in launching CSULB’s Highly Valued Degree Initiative to increase college retention and completion rates overall, with a focus on underrepresented students, officials said. Dowell led a team in 2005 to Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina, a historically black institution, as part of a national study of campuses serving underrepresented students.

In a May interview with the campus newsletter online , Dowell said graduation rates had gone from a low of 26 percent in 1999 to 67 percent today, which translates to more than 6,000 students earning degrees who would not have done so under the earlier rates of graduation.

Calling him “the father of student success at Cal State Long Beach,” Lynn Mahoney, provost and vice president of Academic Affairs at Cal State Los Angeles, who worked with Dowell for more than six years at CSULB, said he was known across the country as an innovator, and he gave talks to campuses in the United States and throughout the world.

“There was nothing Cal State Long Beach accomplished that didn’t have Dave’s fingerprints on it,” Mahoney said. “He was a nationally known expert on student success and became even more nationally renowned because he demonstrated he could do it. He demonstrated it can be done.”

Dowell said he was proud that CSULB graduation rates didn’t fall during the Great Recession and the California budget crisis that saw $1 billion in public funding cut from Cal State University system during what he described as the worst fiscal crisis in the history of California higher education.

He was a key part of the Long Beach College Promise , which provides academically eligible Long Beach Unified School District graduates with guaranteed admission to Cal State Long Beach. Local graduates who choose to study at Long Beach City College can take a year’s worth of classes without having to pay tuition.

LBCC President Eloy Ortiz Oakley, who is scheduled to begin service as California Community Colleges’ next chancellor in December, said the College Promise was a part of Dowell’s handiwork.

“We definitely are going to miss him,” Oakley said. “Within the CSU he had a lot of respect.”

Dowell championed learning abroad, and he spearheaded a campus digital transformation in the areas of student advising, scheduling of classes and managing enrollment.

He oversaw the implementation of electronic advising , which uses analytics to help campus advisers identify students who need assistance in designing their coursework. Program software allows advisers to see the real-time academic performance of students, which helps them steer students to alternative courses of study, if they are struggling in class.

Conoley said Dowell was a values-driven educator who never doubted himself. His management style was decisive, and imbued with wisdom, she said. In decision-making, Dowell placed student success first, and never wavered, even if the path he chose proved unpopular with faculty and administrators, Conoley said.

“Almost to a fault, he was relentless in his total commitment to students,” she said.

Conoley said Dowell was a well-rounded man who enjoyed jazz and the outdoors. He was a scuba diver and an avid cyclist. Dowell was married and had three daughters.

“He adored his children,” Conoley said. “He was open about how much he was crazy about his daughters. He was a strong kind of family person. It was clear he put a big stock in his family.”

On campus, Dowell’s vision included learning communities, supplemental instruction and bolstering learning assistance centers on campus.

He told the campus newsletter in May: “I hope that my legacy is this: leaving the campus in better shape to support the success of all of our students.”

Dowell is survived by his wife, Nancy Dowell, and daughters Maria, Laura and Julia.

Luyben Dilday Mortuary (562) 425-6401