University of California President Mark Yudof met with The Bee's editorial board for the first time since taking office in June.
Here are some tidbits:
On accountability: He notes that some things you can't measure, like the kid who's turned on to Shakespeare, but "the fact that you can't measure everything doesn't mean you measure nothing."
On UC's management style: He sees the system as akin to "a museum without a deacquisition policy" - it has kept adding, but never subtracts anything. He's changing that - sending some functions out to the campuses - such as the continuing legal education program that makes more sense at a campus with a law school than at the central office in Oakland. He's also eliminated functions. He notes: "I've cut out $60 million in a year. What other state agency has done that?"
On budget cuts: He sees it as his job to ensure that Californians understand that these cuts are like "a fire station closing." He believes California is living off the 1950s and 1960s legacy of Gov. Pat Brown and UC President Clark Kerr, who championed the notion that every student should be entitled to a college education regardless of ability to pay. "I'm worried about it," Yudof said.
On how to find more money for universities: Yudof said a "high-fee, high-financial-aid" model is "not the preferred course." He noted that he'd press for the usual sources of funding: the Legislature; exposure, telling people what the UC does to improve life in California; philanthropy, federal research grants; fees; efficiencies and business savings. Beyond that, "If we don't get some relief within five years...we'll have to reexamine the educational delivery model." The university may have to consider more use of technology for intro classes, not just the traditional model of a teacher in front of a classroom of students.
He's smoked cigars with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, "a hoot," he said, and finds him supportive of higher education.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.