EDITORIAL BOARD Christine Byrd
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Michael Litschi
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Jonah Lalas
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Barbara Ortutay
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Amy Golod
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Timothy Kudo
Staff Representative
Brian O’Camb
Staff Representative
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Gov. Gray Davis seems to think rich political contributors and
wealthy business owners sufficiently represent the diversity of
California. At least, that’s the message he’s sending
by his recent appointment to the UC Board of Regents.
George Marcus, real estate developer, chairman of The Marcus and
Millichap Company and former trustee of the California State
University, was recently selected by Davis to become the newest
member of the board. He will serve an unpaid, 12-year term if
confirmed by the state Senate.
Though the state constitution says regents should be
“reflective of the economic, cultural and social diversity of
the State,” the 26-member board is currently composed mostly
of rich corporate executives, landowners and lawyers.
In appointing Marcus to the Board of Regents, Davis passed up an
opportunity to add to the diversity of the board in terms of
socioeconomic status and background.
But his appointment is not surprising ““ Marcus gave more
than $140,000 that went directly to Davis’ campaign in 1998.
Nor is his expected confirmation by the state Senate surprising
““ Marcus gave more than $1 million to Democratic campaigns in
the past three years.
Such blatant conflicts of interest must be questioned. The
system of appointing regents needs to be changed to ensure that the
board does reflect the state’s diversity as outlined in
California’s constitution.
Part of the reason the current system of appointments
doesn’t work is the requisite wealth of the regents.
The time commitment involved in serving as an unpaid regent
makes it nearly impossible for a qualified middle- or working-class
person to take the demanding position.
Compensating people who serve on the board of regents with a
living wage would open the door for qualified, but not necessarily
rich, people to serve. This could include people with direct
experience teaching in a classroom and interacting with students,
something the current board lacks.
But most regents, like Marcus, are wealthy people, meaning the
board fails to represent the economic diversity of the state as
called for in the state constitution.
The governor also overlooked the importance of vast geographical
differences. Many regents on the current board conduct their
business in the highly populated areas of northern and southern
California. A board truly representative of this state needs to
include members from central California, which a number of UC
students call home.
Furthermore, having people on the board with different careers
would help prevent the placement of too much emphasis on any one
area of study. Most of the current members made their money in
business or law. Recent discussions by the board on how to increase
graduate enrollment focused on the sciences but not the arts. This
may be related to the regents’ collective interests as
businesspeople.
Including members with backgrounds in different fields would add
to the diversity of opinions on the board, making it similar to the
diversity present on the UC campuses.
The ethnic representation on the board also does not reflect the
UC and comes nowhere close to representing the state of California.
Though nearly half the state’s population is Latino, only one
Latina serves on the 26-member board. It is appalling.
The homogeneity of the Board of Regents is a slap in the face of
the state constitution and the diverse body of the students they
serve. Obviously, the system of appointing and confirming regents
must be changed.
Though the state Senate has yet to confirm Marcus’s
appointment ““ and we encourage them not to ““ it is very
likely they will. Marcus, who has served on the CSU Board of
Trustees, is just as qualified as any other current regent. But he
does not add diversity to a board that desperately needs it.
We encourage UC students to contact their state senators urging
them not to approve Marcus’ appointment and to demand changes
to the system ensuring that future appointments reflect the
diversity of the state the UC serves.