Lessons to be drawn from UC Davis turmoil
Just as students across the state are finalizing their college choices, the University of California system is making a big decision of its own – whether to keep UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi.
A renowned fundraiser and visionary planner, Katehi has brought all kinds of unwanted publicity to the campus. First, it was campus cops soaking compliant student protesters with pepper spray. Then it was her paid position on the board of a for-profit college. Then it was hiring a PR company to scrub the Internet of the images of those pepper-sprayed kids.
Apparently, UC President Janet Napolitano has had just about enough. But instead of firing Katehi from her well-paid position, the university is investigating.
Meanwhile, a lot of people in Sacramento are sorry to see her go – if that is the outcome. Katehi worked hard to build a stronger connection between the Davis campus and capital city movers and shakers. She vowed to help revitalize downtown with a “world food center,” a possible satellite campus, graduate programs and other connections to the UC; civic and business leaders see those opportunities unraveling.
With Katehi sidelined or gone, they fear, UC Davis could revert to its old identity – that ag school in the quaint little town to the west.
We wonder if the chancellor promised her backers too much. And, just maybe, Sacramento’s civic leaders expected too much. If that’s the case, it’s hard to blame them.
Attracting hundreds of the finest minds to a major research university sparks all kinds of dreams. UC Davis has one of the world’s best agriculture programs, a top-flight veterinary school, is tops in the field of ecology and in the top 20 in a dozen over other programs. Those fertile minds can’t help but develop spinoffs. And as the campus grows, there are dozens of projects every year to keep architects, engineers and construction crews busy.
The same can be said of UC Merced. It doesn’t yet have the prestige of UC Davis, but it’s getting there with research in solar energy, climate studies and a renowned graduate program with studies in nanotechnology and environmental systems.
It’s easy to get excited, but excitement spawns expectations. Sometimes they’re fulfilled, sometimes not. How long were those houses north of town empty?
UC Merced is embarking on major expansion under Chancellor Dorothy Leland. Our hopes couldn’t be any higher for what this expansion will mean – hundreds (if not thousands) of construction jobs, thousands more students shopping in our stores, eating in our restaurants, browsing our bookstores and sitting in coffee shops.
The spillover into Stanislaus County has already happened, with many of the professors living in Turlock where some of their spouses work at Stanislaus State and where there is already a burgeoning college-town social scene. Opportunity seems to be radiating from the campus thanks to a dynamic chancellor.
Unfortunately, sometimes even a dynamic leader can trip over her own shoes – as it appears Katehi has done. Perhaps Katehi didn’t always put students first. It’s a sad lesson, but important.
A university’s bottom line shouldn’t be developing buildings or financial connections. The bottom line is developing students, creating “human capital” that will generate returns on our investment in them – enlivening culture, curing illnesses, fixing the planet. It’s not about what we can make off the university, but what the university can make of its students.
The lesson is not to let our expectations get ahead of what the university can deliver. If the university keeps its focus on the students, delivering an excellent education should be quite enough.
This story was originally published May 2, 2016 at 8:54 AM with the headline "Lessons to be drawn from UC Davis turmoil."