By Benjamin Parke
Daily Bruin Reporter
SAN FRANCISCO “”mdash; Transition, on both the national level and
within the university, was the theme of Thursday’s meeting of
the UC Board of Regents.
A new contract for UC to continue managing laboratories for the
U.S. Department of Energy, including the Los Alamos nuclear weapons
facility, was signed in front of a pair of elevators just outside
the regents’ meeting room at UC San Francisco.
Meanwhile, the attendance by a newly-appointed regent at his
first meeting ““ and a farewell to a couple of outgoing ones
““ could spell a change in the university’s policy on
affirmative action in admissions in the months ahead.
Negotiations between UC and the energy department had been in
progress for the last two months until an agreement was reached
Wednesday — with just three days to spare before the expiration of
U.S. Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson’s term.
Acknowledging that if negotiations hadn’t been completed
before then, it would have complicated things, UC President Richard
Atkinson said he didn’t expect any problems with the contract
when the new administration takes over.
“There is a lot of bipartisan support for the position
that the secretary has taken,” Atkinson said after the
meeting.
The five-year contract includes the Los Alamos National
Laboratory and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
UC’s contract to run the Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory does not come up for consideration of renewal until
2002.
The university will have responsibility for security of the labs
under policies set by the energy department.
Security lapses at Los Alamos last year, including the temporary
disappearance of hard drives containing sensitive information, led
several members of Congress to call for the end of UC’s
management of the labs, which has a 57-year history.
The new contract includes performance incentives for UC, while
giving the government the power to fire researchers.
Meanwhile, changes in the membership of the board could imply
shifting support for the university’s policy of not
considering race or ethnicity in admissions ““ a policy known
as SP-1, which was adopted in 1995.
George Marcus, a Silicon Valley real estate executive who was
appointed by Gov. Gray Davis late last month, finished his second
day in attendance at the regents meeting Thursday.
On that same day, a tribute was paid to outgoing Regent Meredith
Kachigian, and to Regent Howard Leach the previous day, as they
attended the last meeting of their terms.
Kachigian and Leach, both appointees of former Republican Gov.
George Deukmejian, represented two of the votes that instituted
SP-1. With their departure, Davis will have the chance to nominate
two additional regents before the next board meeting in March.
“There’s a momentum,” said Regent William
Bagley, a former California assemblyman who says he knows how to
count votes.
He’s been having “one-on-one little meetings,”
as he described it, with other regents on the possibility of
returning to the issue in the next few months.
In addition to himself, Regent Judith Hopkinson and two
ex-officio regents ““ Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg and
Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante ““ want to proceed in overturning
SP-1, Bagley said.
Even if the regents repeal SP-1, Proposition 209, a 1996
initiative that ended affirmative action in the state, will remain
law and bar consideration of race, gender and ethnicity in
admissions. Activists as well as some regents have called for
SP-1’s repeal as a symbolic gesture.
Last month, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported that
Bagley thought SP-1 would be revisited at the March meeting of the
regents, but he said Thursday he thought May was more likely.
Hopkinson wouldn’t comment on her involvement other than
to say she didn’t think it would come up in March.
Regent Kachigian received a standing ovation as the rest of the
board paid tribute to her service. Bagley, a staunch foe of
SP-1 ““ which Kachigian favored ““ asked: “Why are
they all happy, Meredith?”
“It’s just you, Bill,” Kachigian answered.
“Not true, not true,” Bagley said, adding later that
he “absolutely, totally” respected her.
Regents on both sides of the debate praised her for her hard
work, with Regent Peter Preuss explaining: “We are a family
in which we like each others’ dedication, who frequently
really like each other, even though we can disagree ““ and
disagree strongly.
“If you are a housewife regent, we should have more
housewife regents,” he added, referring to a label given to
her at the time of her appointment.
Kachigian is married to Ken Kachigian ““ an important
figure in the Republican Party, and a friend of former President
Ronald Reagan.
She did not hesitate to refer to the passage of SP-1 in her
final speech to the board in which she looked back upon her years
of membership.
“It was covered by an army of press and a never-ending
array of students and activists ““ a nice term sometimes, for
their irresponsible public comment,” Kachigian said.
Regent Leach received his tribute on the previous day, as he
could not attend the Thursday meeting.
His speech focused on the importance of agriculture to the state
and the important role which UC has in research in that area.
Descriptions of Leach as a “citizen-trustee” and
“resident statesman” were voiced by his colleagues.
“Everyone here will miss your patrician presence,”
said Regents’ Chair S. Sue Johnson.
Regent Ward Connerly recalled some advice Leach gave him when he
was new to the board.
“I remember when he said “˜one should always follow
the dictates of one’s beliefs, but remember the board
functions best when it functions as a team,'” Connerly
said.