'The chairman of the Cal State Long Beach journalism department on Friday was removed from that post a week after criticizing an idea broached by a college dean to eliminate print editions of the campus newspaper.

Although Professor William Babcock no longer is department chairman, he remains employed by the university as a tenured journalism faculty member.

Gerry Riposa, the dean of the College of Liberal Arts, announced at a meeting of journalism faculty Friday that Babcock was removed as chairman because of "ineffective" leadership, according to Babcock.

Riposa could not be reached for comment Friday.

University spokeswoman Toni Beron said Babcock's removal had been under consideration for some time and was due to the lack of accreditation for the department and the inability to meet budget.

Babcock defended his record, saying that student enrollment is up, more faculty members have Ph.D.s and faculty scholarship has increased during his tenure.

"At no time has Gerry Riposa ever indicated to me that my leadership has in any way been ineffective," Babcock said after Friday's faculty meeting.

Riposa has sought a feasibility study of a proposal to eliminate most printed editions of the Daily Forty-Niner newspaper and focus on its electronic edition as a cost-saving measure for the paper.

The paper in recent years has been in the red, with the cost overruns being paid by the College of Liberal Arts, Riposa has said.

"What it really comes down to is the student paper and its finances are a symptom of the problems the department has had," Beron said.

Babcock in a news article published in the Press-Telegram on Sept. 15 criticized the idea of eliminating the print edition, saying it would hurt advertising revenue needed to keep the publication alive.

Babcock's removal also comes a week after a Sept. 14 faculty meeting with Riposa that had as an agenda item a discussion of the feasibility study.

The discussion did not take place because Riposa left the meeting early after learning that several student journalists and one professional journalist were in attendance.

Riposa last week told the Press-Telegram that he had wanted a faculty-only meeting and that he had not been told in advance that students or journalists would be present. Otherwise, he would have come more prepared with materials to share, he added.

Babcock said he had no knowledge that the students would be present and did not invite them. But all faculty meetings are open to students, he said.

"The appearance to me is that Gerry was simply annoyed that student journalists showed up at a faculty meeting last Friday where he was going to talk about launching a study that could lead to the elimination of the daily campus newspaper," Babcock said.

Riposa "blamed me for the embarrassment this caused him," he added.

Beron disputed the meeting as a factor.

"It had nothing to do with that meeting at all," Beron said.

Babcock has served as chairman since 2001. In an election last summer, faculty members recommended him for another three-year term in the post.

Bradley Zint, editor-in-chief of the Daily Forty-Niner, said that Babcock was a strong advocate for the paper and for students.

"I think it's a loss," said Zint, a former Press-Telegram intern. "I've worked with him, and I appreciated his contributions."

He declined to comment on the merits of the dean's decision, saying that he wanted to avoid a situation in which students would get involved in internal faculty politics.

Zint criticized Riposa for his decision to leave the faculty meeting Sept. 14.

"It seemed like he was avoiding talking to the paper," he said.

Journalism professor William Mulligan, who has been critical of Babcock, said that Riposa told faculty members at Friday's meeting that he no longer had confidence in Babcock's leadership.

Mulligan, a former department chairman, said it's unclear what direction Riposa wants to take the department, but it would be a mistake to make the Forty-Niner online-only.

"The dean hasn't outlined, really, what his vision of journalism is," said Mulligan, who has voted against recommending Babcock for chairman.

Associate Professor Raul Reis assumed the position of department chairman at Riposa's invitation, Reis said. He declined to comment further.

Beron said she expected Reis would remain in the position until spring when an election for a new chairman would be held.'