By Phillip Carter
Daily Bruin Staff
SAN FRANCISCO — Seizing the spotlight at an otherwise tepid
Board of Regents meeting, UC Berkeley Chancellor Chang-Lin Tien
kicked off the public phase of that campus’s $1.1 billion "New
Century" fundraising campaign last week – the largest ever for an
American public university.
Without dissent, a UC Regents committee approved Tien’s
fundraising proposal, calling it "essential" for the future of the
9-campus system’s flagship school. Speaking to the regents, Tien
stressed that UC Berkeley couldn’t count on continued public
support to fund its future.
"As we approach a new century, California’s commitment to higher
education can no longer be assured by tax dollars alone," said a
jubilant Tien. "We need the strong support of public corporations
whose success depends on our first-rate research and top-ranked
students."
Tien’s announcement marks the transition from the "pre-public
phase" to the "public phase" of the campaign, which so far has
pulled in $480 million. Its intent is to raise money for both
capital-building projects and non-capital projects, such as
student-life improvement and faculty support.
Leading the campaign is Berkeley’s vice chancellor for
university relations, C.D. Mote, whose office directly oversees the
campus’s alumni and support organizations. Mote enthusiastically
promoted the campaign, saying that alumni and donor support has
been coming in at unexpectedly high levels.
"We have been overwhelmed at the tremendous enthusiasm and
generosity among our alumni and the friends of Cal," Mote said.
"Our efforts will ensure that Berkeley will continue to help keep
California at the forefront of the nation."
Despite the wealth of good feelings in the room toward the
campaign, several regents expressed concern on behalf of the other
campuses whose fundraising efforts may suffer during Berkeley’s
mega-campaign. Regent Ward Connerly, echoing the sentiments of his
colleagues, speculated that Berkeley may take too much out of
California’s "philanthropic pool" of money, leaving less for the
other UC schools.
"This is a very ambitious undertaking," said Connerly, who then
asked Tien, "Are we taking money that might otherwise go into some
other campus?"
In response, UCLA Chancellor Charles Young said those concerns
were unfounded. Even as UC Berkeley was busy raising $480 million
in its pre-public phase, UCLA raised a record $191 million last
year in its own annual campaign.
"There’s no competition at all – there’s synergy in the
campaigns," said Young, adding that UCLA was preparing to kick off
its own public campaign before Young’s retirement in June 1997,
"which may be a little larger than the Berkeley campaign."
Currently, UC Berkeley receives just 36 percent of its funding
from the state, receiving the majority of its remaining money from
federal- research dollars and student fees. As a whole, the UC
system receives 24 percent of its money from the state.
Berkeley’s campaign comes as the most recent in a flurry of
activity by public universities to match the resources of private
universities, whose massive endowments and fundraising campaigns
date back to the 17th century, when schools like Harvard and
Dartmouth were founded.
These endowment funds – most measuring in the billions – provide
enough interest every year to fund numerous faculty positions and
university projects.
Harvard currently boasts a $7 billion endowment. By comparison,
UC Berkeley officials said its endowment, which stands at $1
billion now, may receive nearly $300 million from this "New
Century" campaign.
On their own, these endowments work at the margins of university
financial activity. But they have recently come into the spotlight
with the ascension of university rankings to the forefront of
academic debate.
Last month, the U.S. News & World Report College Guide
ranked UC Berkeley and UCLA 27th and 31st respectively, prompting
many to question the methods by which colleges are ranked.
Thirty-five percent of their formula centers on the financial
profile of schools; 5 percent of the total ranking formula measures
alumni-giving rates.
Not surprisingly, UC Berkeley and UCLA fell far behind Princeton
and Harvard Universities, the two most well-endowed schools in the
rankings. Princeton’s per-student spending of $32,417 and 62
percent alumni-donation rate soared above UCLA, with $21,500 and 16
percent.
Many in California cite this portion of the formula as the one
responsible for UC Berkeley and UCLA’s precipitous drop in the
rankings. As recently as 1990, the two universities alternated for
space in the top-15 national university rankings.
In addition to universities’ endowment funds, the rankings hinge
on each school’s annual budget, a figure long problematic for UC
campuses because of the volatile state budget process. Since
California Gov. Pete Wilson’s inauguration in 1991, UC funding has
stagnated in comparison to its public-university competitors, such
as the University of Michigan or University of Virginia.
Tien acknowledged this connection, but cited the recent National
Research Council rankings, which placed UC Berkeley and UCLA as
first and third respectively of major research universities. He
added that all rankings count, but that the UC system was still
recovering from the California recession and unfriendly state
budgets, and would continue its recovery through the next
century.