By Bill Lindelof
A retired Sacramento State University professor has drowned in Hawaii, Kauai police said.
Roger William Leezer, 68, of Rancho Murieta, drowned in the waters off Poipu Beach opposite the Sheraton Kauai Resort on March 22, police said.
Leezer had recently retired after a long career but was teaching part-time. He joined the university in 1965 as a part-time member of the faculty in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics.
After completing his doctorate in Mathematics from the University of California, Davis, in 1968 he became an assistant professor in the math department at California State University, Sacramento. During a long career, he was elected chair of the department several times.
From 1978-1984 he was dean of the School of Arts and Sciences with responsibility for 500 faculty members and nearly 30 academic departments.
"The School of Arts and Sciences served more students when Roger was dean than a number of smaller CSU campuses in existence at that time," said David Wagner, vice president for Human Resources.
From 1984 to 1986, Leezer was the assistant vice president for telecommunications. He was the founding administrator for the university's Telecommunications Program Center responsible for electronic communication, computing and distance education, according to information provided by Sacramento State.
Upon his completion of his stint in telecommunications he returned to the math department as a professor.
Private services are planned.
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