By Timothy Kudo
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Gov. Gray Davis announced the appointment of a new member to the
UC Board of Regents Dec. 22, replacing former regent Frank Clark,
Jr.
Los Altos Hills real estate developer George Marcus immediately
begins the unpaid 12-year term, though finalizing the position
requires state Senate confirmation.
Marcus could not be reached for comment.
Debbie Davis, chair of the University of California Student
Association, the group representing UC students at the state and
university level, said she is looking forward to working with
Marcus and discovering his views on student issues.
“We’re concerned about his stand on raising fees,
we’re concerned about his position on affirmative action, and
given the current interest of the regents in graduate education,
seeing what experience he has in graduate education policy and what
his views may be,” Davis said.
Marcus is the founder and chairman of The Marcus & Millichap
Company, and he served as member of the California State University
Board of Trustees, which fills a role similar to the UC
Regents.
The 26-member Board of Regents is the governing body of the
university deciding issues relating to every aspect of university
operation from budgetary issues, including student fee changes, to
educational policy, to the management of Department of Energy
Laboratories.
Some student leaders expressed concern that like many UC
Regents, Marcus is wealthy and a large political contributor
““ having given more than $125,000 in the first half of last
year to Democratic candidates and causes, including $25,000 to
Davis.
“Once again we find that an exceptionally high level of
wealth and political contribution seems to have considerable impact
on who gets appointed … though that’s not to say this
person may not be a terrific regent,” said UCSA legislative
affairs director Peter Pursley.
Additionally, Pursley pointed to the state constitution which
states, “Regents shall be able persons broadly reflective of
the economic, cultural, and social diversity of the State,
including ethnic minorities and women.”
“However, it is not intended that formulas or specific
ratios be applied in the selection of regents,” he added.
Davis’ spokesman Roger Salazar defended the decision to
appoint Marcus and said it was “based on what’s in the
best interests of the people of California.”
Regent Ward Connerly, the president of a land-use consulting
firm and a Republican donor, noted it would be difficult to have
the board be reflective of the financial diversity of the
state.
“Regents spend, on average, 20 hours a week on
regents’ business,” Connerly said. “This is not
the kind of position that a guy who works eight to five would be
able to drop whatever he’s doing and go to a regents
meeting.”
He noted that it has always been the case that regents are close
friends of the governor or large donors.
“This is nothing new,” Connerly said. “You
don’t just represent people because you’re low-income,
you represent them because of their issues.”
“Give the man a chance,” he added.
Terms will expire this year for regents Howard Leach and
Meredith Khachigian. Both were appointed by Republican
governors.
“The two appointments the governor has left provide an
opportunity to diversify the Board of Regents both ethnically and
in terms of gender, background and geography,” said student
regent Justin Fong.
Though Marcus’ opinion on affirmative action is unclear,
he replaces a regent who voted in favor of SP-1, the regents’
1995 policy that prohibited the consideration of race, gender and
ethnicity admissions. Then-Lt. Gov. Davis has said he disliked the
policy.
The two regents about to finish their terms also voted to end
affirmative action.
The issue has become more relevant of late because Regent
William Bagley and Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante have been meeting to
discuss how SP-1 might be repealed, UCSA officials said.
Some students said the repeal would be only a symbolic move
since Proposition 209, which banned the use of affirmative action
throughout the state, supersedes it, but proponents see some legal
wiggle room if it is repealed.
Marcus will attend his first regents’ meeting at UC San
Francisco-Laurel Heights on Jan. 17-18.
When asked what advice he had for Marcus, Connerly said:
“Give up the rest of your life because it’s a very
demanding position, but a very challenging one. One in which, if
you take it seriously, which I’m sure he will, you can have a
significant effect on public policy at the UC.”