Earning My Degree

by Gardner, David Pierpont

• ISBN13: 9780520241831
• ISBN10: 0520241835
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-01-30
• Publisher: Univ of California Pr

Summary

David Pierpont Gardner was president of one of the world's most distinguished centers of higher learning--the nine-campus University of California--from 1983 to 1992. In this remarkably candid and lively memoir he provides an insider's account of what it was like for a very private, reflective man to live an extremely public life as leader of one of the most complex and controversial institutions in the country.Earning My Degreeis a portrait of uncommon leadership and courage and a chronicle of how these traits shaped a treasured, and sometimes mystifying, American institution. Before his tenure as president, Gardner spent seven years at the University of California, Santa Barbara, during a tumultuous era of culture wars, ethnic division, and anti-Vietnam War protests, leaving his post as vice chancellor to serve as vice president of the University of California from 1971 to 1973. In 1973 he was named president of the University of Utah, and while there he chaired the National Commission on Excellence in High Education, which authoredA Nation at Risk,regarded today as the twentieth century's most telling report on the condition of American public schools. As president of the University of California, he contended with intense controversies over affirmative action, animal rights, AIDS research, weapons labs, divestment in South Africa, and much more. This memoir recounts his experiences with these and other issues and describes his dealings with the diverse cast of characters who influence the university: U.S. presidents, governors, legislators, regents, chancellors, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and donors. The epilogue ofEarning My Degreeis a thoughtful and engaging account of the ten years since Gardner's retirement that includes his personal views about what has truly mattered in his life.

Table of Contents

Foreword	ix
Preface	xv
Acknowledgments	xvii
Introduction. Fiat Lux	1	(6)
Youth and Lessons Learned	7	(23)
The Apprenticeship Years	30	(42)
Serving the University of Utah	72	(32)
A Nation at Risk	104	(38)
Back to the Blue and Gold	142	(32)
The Workings of the University and the Crucial First Year	174	(36)
The University on the Move	210	(37)
Bumps and Barriers Along the Way	247	(45)
The Public and Diplomatic Life	292	(29)
Tragedy and Tribulation	321	(41)
Epilogue. Years of Renewal and Personal Reflections	362	(15)
Appendix 1. UC's Long-Range Planning Estimates for 1988--2006 by Campus	377	(4)
Appendix 2. Text of the Regents' Action on the Separation of David P. Gardner as President of the University of California, in Special Session, April 20, 1992	381	(4)
Appendix 3. David S. Webster and Tad Skinner's ``Rating PhD Programs: What the NRC Report Says . . . and Doesn't Say'' on the UC System	385	(2)
Appendix 4. University History Series, Regional Oral History Office	387	(2)
Appendix 5. Education, Professional Activities, Honors, and Awards, with Bibliography of David P. Gardner	389	(7)
Appendix 6. Samples of Articles about or Conversations with David P. Gardner, 1983--1992	396	(1)
Notes	397	(16)
Credits	413	(2)
Index	415