[2] He developed common standards for the colleges and universities in the system, supported affirmative action to recruit women and minority students, and assisted the establishment of four new campuses.

During the 1940s he conducted extensive research and published his most notable historical works, including The Boom of the Eighties in Southern California (1944) and A History of the Pacific Area in Modern Times (1949), co-authored with Osgood Hardy.

When Buell Gallagher, the first chancellor of the new system, resigned suddenly after only eight months on the job, Dumke was offered the position.

He began the practice of meeting monthly with the campus presidents, giving them significant input on system policies.

During his term of office, he helped create four new campuses at Dominguez Hills, Bakersfield, San Bernardino and Sonoma.

Other initiatives of Dumke include the establishment of off-campus and extension programs in 1971, and a 1978 five-year affirmative action plan to increase enrollment of women and minorities in the CSU.

[2] Dumke wrote several historical novels under the pseudonyms Glenn Pierce (The Tyrant of Bagdad, 1955; and King's Ransom, 1986) and Jordan Allen (The Condor, 1970; Texas Fever, 1980; and Cavern of Silver, 1982).