Gov. Deukmejian and UC: A Unique Partnership
On Aug. 7, 2018, The Capitol Morning Report published a column from David Pierpont Gardner, who served as president of the University of California from 1983 to 1992, titled, “Gov. Deukmejian and UC: A Unique Partnership.” Here’s an excerpt:
The Governor and I met at his request in Los Angeles two months after my appointment as President (1983). After lunch, and in response to his question, I informed him that significant numbers of UC’s faculty were being recruited away from the University and we weren’t having much luck in stemming the tide. I also pointed out that the heart of the University is its faculty and the overall quality of any University depends mostly upon the quality of its faculty. I also noted that the overall quality of the University of California, taking all nine campuses together, was without parallel anywhere in the world.
After lunch, and following a 20-minute conversation, I provided him with specific examples of the problem. He then turned to his budget officer for the dollars we would be talking about if State funds were to be used to stem this loss. With that information, and encouragement from me to increase salaries in one year rather than two or three years as he had earlier suggested, he directed his budget officer to make provision in the upcoming 1984-85 budget for an 18 percent increase in faculty salaries.
After a similar conversation of about 45 minutes as to the condition of our grounds and buildings, libraries, classrooms, clinics and the like, the Governor directed his budget officer to include an increase of 30 percent in UC’s general budget for the 1984-85 fiscal year, including increases for the staff and a modest reduction in student tuitions. By the end of the 1985-1986 fiscal year, all of what UC had lost over the previous 16 years had been made up. The University’s capital budget also rose by 1500 percent during Deukmejian’sadministration as well.
Throughout our conversation over lunch that memorable day, I was impressed with the depth of the Governor’s questions, his knowledge of the subject, the always informal and supportive comments from his three closest advisers and his gentle courtesy to all, including me. What a day!
This reinvestment in UC transcended political expediency and defied political calculation. It was a bold and utterly surprising move that rescued a great University and all it has come to mean for California’s standing in the nation and the world. Deukmejian did it — with the help of the rebounding California economy — without raising taxes.
The clear lesson of his political legacy is that governors matter. So do the values they bring to office. Deukmejian’s included a respect for education’s transformative power in creating the climate of opportunity that distinguishes our society from so many others. Unfailingly dedicated to the welfare of the State as a whole, he was always informed, honest, straightforward, thorough, and as good as his word when once committed. Working with him was sheer pleasure. George Deukmejian was a great man who made a lasting difference to the State and to its world-famous University of California. His passing is a loss to both.
Read the complete article on The Capitol Morning Report website.