He comes everyday to work in jean shorts and a T-shirt. He wears flip-flops most of the time. He likes to wear bright, random colors and, according to John Muir College Assistant Dean Patty Mahaffey, he is “”eclectic,”” “”colorful”” and a “”funny guy.””
Charles “”Chips”” Dreilinger, Muir’s dean, is a man who has shown extreme dedication to students and student life at Muir by doing his own thing — in his own way — for more than 20 years. And now, after holding his position since 1979, he will retire.
Perhaps because of his unconventional appearance and easygoing manner, Dreilinger tends to make quite an impression on students.
Sophomore Ruba Batniji, vice-chair of the Muir College Council, is one such student. She said Dreilinger “”always has the funniest stories.
“”Sitting with him in a meeting is just amusing,”” Batniji said.
Batniji said the MCC chairs would meet with Dreilinger every week for a meeting, and she described them as very relaxed and enjoyable.
“”We would go in to talk with him about what is affecting Muir,”” Batniji said. “”He would always ask us how we were doing individually and always share stories about his family and his experiences.””
Having led such a colorful life, Dreilinger has many stories to tell.
Dreilinger grew up in Long Island, N.Y., and graduated from Antioch College, the first co-op college that allowed students to study for three months and then travel anywhere and work for another three months.
Dreilinger was a very active college student. He was a house advisor, orientation leader and in the college council: he “”just loved it.””
After graduating college with a degree in cultural geography, a major he chose because it had the “”least requirements,”” Dreilinger settled down with his wife, Anna, and started a family.
Soon, Anna was in medical school and Dreilinger was raising their three sons — Daniel, Seth and Sean — with his own inimitable style.
“”I used to make my kids sleep in their school clothes, so when I woke them up the next morning, they would be already ready to go to school,”” Dreilinger joked.
Dreilinger also said every weekend Anna would make 15 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to make mornings easier for him.
“”All I had to do every morning was grab three sandwiches and three apples, and their lunches were ready,”” Dreilinger said. “”I like shortcuts.””
His work experience is diverse: He has worked in a hospital with patients who had attempted suicide, worked in a halfway house for mental patients and even taught Spanish at a Quaker school.
One of his most memorable experiences came at a little newspaper in Ohio.
“”I was working with them during the time of Kennedy’s assassination,”” Dreilinger said. “”It was a fascinating experience.””
Eventually, Dreilinger’s love of the college environment drew him to UCSD, where he took the job of dean at Muir college.
“”I pursued working for the university because I realized I could continue doing what I love and get paid for it,”” he said.
He came to Muir wanting to create a sense of cohesiveness and unity amongst the students.
“”They wanted me to create a college of private liberal arts in an environment of a large public university,”” he said.
Dreilinger had a lot of freedom to shape student life, and his goal was to make a Muir student’s stay here “”mean something.””
At first, Dreilinger was faced with many challenges. For one, the dean he was replacing had gone to jail because of a gambling problem. A couple years into the position, his office was burglarized and vandalized.
“”[The vandals] drilled around the doorknob and in the center of the office, burned all the misconduct files and even spray-painted the walls and paintings,”” Dreilinger said.
He seems amused by it now, but said he was very annoyed at the time.
Mahaffey said that Dreilinger’s job was difficult and frustrating at times because he had to report to the provost and to the vice chancellor of student affairs; being the mediator at times was another great challenge.
Dreilinger has met and worked with all kinds of people and handled many different situations. He says that he tries “”not to be very judgmental with anyone.””
“”I have to do a lot of discipline, which I really dislike,”” Dreilinger said. “”One problem was the students who had blatantly violated rules and regulations but still refused to admit to it or even talk about it.””
Yet Mahaffey said Dreilinger “”is great with discipline.”” One positive contribution she mentioned was his rewriting of “”convoluted”” student rules into “”student-friendly terms.””
When Dreilinger arrived at UCSD, he was handed a 10-year study of Muir students that concluded that only 40 percent of Muir students were staying in school, while the other 60 percent were dropping out. He explained that one of the main reasons behind such an attrition rate was the “”alienation”” that students felt.
That study really made Dreilinger more determined to “”enrich student life”” and develop a community in which students feel they belong. He admits that it is hard to reach everyone, like many of the transfer students, for example.
“”When I first came to Muir, there were only six organizations, including the council and the commuters,”” Dreilinger said. “”Now there are 36. I never rejected a proposal for an organization. We have everything from Muir Bowling to Muir TV, and even S.T.I.T.C.H. [Students Taking Initiative to Crochet Hats] for students who like to knit.””
Dreilinger doesn’t just advocate passionate student involvement — he leads by example.
As dean, Dreilinger attended every single Muir event and even various Muir organizations meetings. He would stay at the MCC meetings until 1 a.m. if he had to.
Mahaffey said he “”always stood out at the Un-Olympics”” because it is his favorite event of the year.
A perfect example is the year that the movie “”Braveheart”” came out; for the Muir entrance at the Un-Olympics, he and the students ran on to the field wearing kilts and face paint.
“”I always took part in our exciting entrances,”” Dreilinger said, laughing.
One year, a student wrote a play titled “”Who Killed John Muir?”” and Dreilinger played John Muir because he strongly resembles the famous ecologist. Mahaffey recounted how he had to walk face first into a cake three nights in a row: “”You won’t find many deans who will do that!””
Dreilinger starts reaching out to students early, according to Mahaffey. Every year at freshman orientation, he illustrates his welcoming speech with costumes.
“”If he was going to talk about student parking, then he would wear a police hat,”” Mahaffey said. “”If he was going to talk about the cafeteria, he would wear a chef’s hat.””
Dreilinger is known for supporting student causes, sometimes in the face of opposition from other administrators.
Batniji said that Dreilinger has never stopped working and fighting for the students.
“”He supported us in everything we wanted to do,”” she said.
Batniji gave the example of the annual Muirstock this year, when Muir was denied the beer garden they had requested.
“”I know that deep down, Chips did not like the idea, but he really supported us and fought for us,”” she said. “”He got up on stage that night and asked ‘Where’s the beer garden?’ and everyone was just laughing and cheering.””
He said that it is so rewarding when he would see student faces light up. With a wide grin, he said, “”I would see the light bulb go on.””
Dreilinger is also frank about his opposition to UCSD’s continual expansion.
“”Colleges are losing their purpose as the campus is becoming more significant, more unified,”” he said. “”It is the UCLA-ization of UCSD.””
He brushed these thoughts aside as he said, “”things just change,”” and that the campus evolves into what the students want, which is important in his eyes.
“”There has been phenomenal growth and change at UCSD,”” Dreilinger said, adding that a lot of the change is in the students from generation to generation. “”They have become more family-oriented now. Before, students did not want to be seen with their parents.””
Dreilinger decided in November 2001 that he would resign at the end of the school year, a decision he made in conjunction with his wife. He said his family has been very supportive of the decision.
Medical reasons are responsible for his slowdown, he said, and this year he was only on campus two days per week.
“”If I was healthy, I would not leave,”” Dreilinger said. “”But staying and working and doing a half-ass job is not something I feel good about.””
He said he has very “”mixed feelings”” about retiring.
“”I am curious about it,”” he said after a deep breath. “”I want to get a dog. I need to have some company after being surrounded by students all the time.””
He is looking forward to having more “”leisure time”” for reading.
“”I love to read anything, you name it,”” he said. “”From trash, to classic novels, to botany.””
In fact, one of Dreilinger’s favorite pastimes is gardening and he is excited to devote more time to it now. He has 800 cacti and succulents.
“”I love my plants,”” he said. “”I used to just be amazed with watching a plant grow from a seed that I planted.””
Dreilinger’s sons live in the Bay Area and Dreilinger plans to travel to see them and his grandchildren more often. He does not feel tied down to San Diego and he may move elsewhere.
“”[San Diego] is no longer as enjoyable as before,”” Dreilinger said. “”It has grown so much, just like UCSD.””
Despite the new opportunities retirement gives to him, Dreilinger said he is going to miss the students the most.
“”They really keep me energized,”” he said.
This year will be his last graduation after 23 years, and he will read the names of the graduating class.
“”It is funny because I used to think of graduation as a joke, but I see how important it is to students here,”” he said. “”It all seems so special. I am looking forward to it.””
He said that he has had the privilege of working with a “”great staff,”” one being Mahaffey, who will be Muir’s new dean next year. She laughed as she said that she has “”big flip-flops to fill”” because Dreilinger will leave behind “”many empty pockets.””
Batniji smiled and said, “”I love Chips — he will definitely be missed.””
