Opinion: Does UC’s current leadership share the vision of the university’s early champions?

To the editor: Gov. Pat Brown, our current governor’s father, envisioned a University of California system in which all state residents who desired a degree could obtain their dream education at our prestigious schools virtually free of charge. (“State audit finds UC president’s office paid excessive salaries to top staff and mishandled budget money,” April 25)

Creating a population of skilled graduates benefited not only students but also the state as a whole, for it produced doctors, lawyers, engineers and researchers of every stripe, who in turn created businesses and additional employment for others.

UC President Janet Napolitano does not seem to share that vision. Instead she has turned a thriving system’s treasury into a pork barrel for top executives, according to a state audit. She deserves to lose her job.

Arline M. Mathews, Chatsworth

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To the editor: California has allowed the privatization of its once-great UC system while it plays with its high-speed train set.

Last week, I wrote to the dean of my alma mater, UCLA Law School, regarding her fundraising pitch that featured a $20-million private grant to establish the school as a “hub” for human rights. My daughter’s focus is human rights and legal services for the public, so I pointed out to the dean the irony that she will be attending law school in Arizona because UCLA cannot deliver an affordable education.

Sooner or later, the torches and pitchforks will come out, and UC administrators, with their paltry $400,000-plus salaries, will bemoan the public’s disdain for higher education.

Barrington Daltrey, Riverside

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