Chancellor's Memo (April 1971; Vol. 9, No. 2)

              Chancellor's Memo
University of California Santa Cruz
Volume 9, Number 2
April 1971
LOOKING BACKWARD — AND FORWARD
Santa Cruz reported to The Regents on the state of the campus on March 18 and 19.  For me, it was
the first full opportunity to provide an account of my stewardship since I was appointed Chancellor
in 1961.  The occasion was review of a revised Long Range Development Plan and proposed Academic
Plan, 1970-80.  Some of the general points I made during the presentation were:
"1965 was an awkward time for a new institution of higher learning to be born.  Campus disorders
were just beginning.  The era of generous State support was coming to an end.  Public confidence
in colleges and universities was put to the test, as never before, from 1965 onward.  Support
budgets dropped proportionately, and capital budgets have all but disappeared."
"Perhaps the most striking change from the 1965 Plan is our questioning of the 27,500 ultimate
student population in the 1971 Plan. The campus and the Santa Cruz community increasingly are
convinced that optimum size may be a student body of 10,000 to 15,000."
Among the successes, I enumerated:
"The site.  The Regents, in choosing the Cowell Ranch, assured the campus an exquisite natural
site.  Its development has been marked by restraint and sensitivity. Some twenty architectural
firms have designed our buildings, which have won about a dozen architectural awards."
"The college plan. We think this is the first state university organized from the outset on a
small cluster college basis. Extraordinarily close contacts between faculty and students have
existed from the beginning, both in class and informal situations."
"Student input.  Santa Cruz may be the most selective American state university campus in undergraduate admissions.  Each year there are about four times as many qualified applicants as can
be admitted."
"Student output.  In Woodrow Wilson fellowships, one of the few criteria for judging quality of
output, Santa Cruz ranked in 1970 first in California and seventh in the nation in proportion
of its graduating seniors winning Wilson awards. The 1969 record was similar."
"Evaluation of students.  Our pass/fail plus written evaluation plan probably is the first full-
scaled experiment in reforming the grading system at a major college or university."
"Gifts and grants.  Nearly $6,000,000 has been raised from foundations and individual donors,
largely for capital projects.  The latest is a $250,000 Venture Grant from the Ford Foundation
for innovative projects in the colleges."
Among our shortcomings, I mentioned:
"Housing. We overestimated the demand for on-campus housing, and underestimated the supply and
attractiveness to students of beach cottages, mountain cabins, and old houses in town."
"Professional schools.  We moved too slowly in launching professional schools; when we were
ready to start engineering and business, those fields were preempted."
"Institutes and centers.  Except for the Lick Observatory, which Santa Cruz inherited, State
funding dried up before we got started in organized research and service."
"Faculty balance. Despite the distinction of the faculty, there are fewer women, fewer ethnic
minority and fewer senior faculty than planned."
The physical plan was presented by Campus Architect John Wagstaff and Consulting Architect Ernest
Kump. Speaking on the Academic Plan were Provost Kenneth V. Thimann, University Librarian Donald
T. Clark, Assistant Vice Chancellor Robert F. Adams, and student representative Luis Campos.
The Santa Cruz reports were well received.  In January 1965, when the LRDP and Academic Plan were
approved in principle, there was substantial opposition and considerable doubt whether we could
accomplish our goals.  This time there was generous approval of what has been accomplished and
full endorsement of future plans.
[Signed: Dean E. McHenry]