Before retiring Oct. 1, UC President Richard C. Atkinson took questions from editors of UC campus publications regarding his personal views on a variety of issues facing the University of California. Below is a summary of the questions and his answers.

What are your thoughts about how the University is going to weather these tough times and go about preserving quality?

I think we have been through cycles like this before, and if you look at the history of the University, we have always managed to survive the cycle and usually come out much stronger as we enter a period with better budgets. One has to worry about how deep the problems are in the state and how long this will continue. The current year’s budget, which is based on the state borrowing $10 billion – we can’t re-create that budget again next year, so the Legislature is going to have to deal with some very tough issues. There are going to have be some tax increases, in my judgment, along with further reductions in the budget. But I do believe the economy is coming back, and over three to four years will once again become a vibrant economy. In the interim, we have to worry that we don’t do any deep damage to the University.

Are enrollments going to be cut, given that the Legislature has said it will not provide more money for enrollment growth next year? What kind of public reaction do you foresee?

If we really had to cut enrollments it would be very disturbing to me. We have been saying for many years that if a student completes their a-g courses, takes the SAT I and the three SAT IIs, and does well in terms of the concept of being eligible for UC, they would be admitted to one of our campuses. These are young people preparing for college for three to four years, and to break that promise to them would be terrible.

There are very serious budget problems ahead of us, but we have some flexibility in terms of options. I won’t go into all of them, but fees, for example, are one dimension in which we have flexibility. We are at least $1,800 to $2,000 behind our competitor institutions in the fees we charge. And the financial aid system of the University of California is the best financial aid program of any public university in the nation. The Legislature will probably protest fee increases, as they do every time. But in the end analysis, if it comes to denying students access instead, the choice may well be a fee increase.

What happened in the Legislature on this year’s budget? Why was outreach so hard hit? What will that mean for diversity at UC?

Well, I don’t think the budget process this last year really represented a full consensus in the Legislature. The Senate dominated the process and was very firm that they were going to make cuts everywhere – and big cuts in outreach because there had been increases in outreach over the past five to six years. The Assembly would have protected the outreach funds, but they were not part of the discussion. So it will be interesting to see what happens next year. The issue of diversity is central to the future of UC. If we are not viewed as serving a full diversity of the state of California, the support for UC will diminish. So for the future of UC, we need to convey to all of the people of the state that UC serves them – not just in terms of research and medical services, but in the access their children have to UC.

As the gap between UC wages for faculty and staff and pay at comparable institutions continues to widen, what’s the argument for staying with UC?

The employees of the University have been really quite remarkable. They are very dedicated, and they work very hard – and I say that with no reservations. I think that they believe in the University and recognize that in many ways we are a great employer. Because of the state budget situation, our salaries have lagged, as they have for state employees. I hope that can be turned around – I know it is a high priority for the University, but we need the proper financial support from the state.

I think you also have to take into account that no one has contributed to the retirement plan in years and that we have such a strong retirement plan. It’s also important to remember that we’ve maintained excellent health benefits and professional development opportunities.

What is the key to successfully running a university system?

One really needs experience in the university world. One has to have taken part in the teaching programs and research programs of a university. One has to have an appreciation for how important the university experience is for young people – both from their personal experience and their long-term future. But you also need a background in business affairs, because there are financial and management issues that have to be dealt with and you can’t be naïve about this.

How do you see UC’s management of the national laboratories evolving in the coming years in light of the problems at Los Alamos?

First, let me say that historically the position has been that we manage these labs at the request of the federal government, and I have always had a slightly different view of the matter. I believe we manage them because we at the University believe that is in the best interests of the nation and that we have an opportunity to make a dramatic contribution to the wellbeing of the nation. So in my view, I am quite prepared to compete for the labs. We have to wait to see the terms of the competition and ensure they are in the University’s interest, of course. But I suspect there will be some consideration of joining with some contractor in the private sector so that they would take on some of the managerial aspects of the lab. But I would compete with the understanding that the University is key to decisions on scientific matters, key to the issues of selecting and promoting scientific talent. Obviously we have to see what the contract is like. And I hope that this is not such a political process that it is impossible for UC to compete.

From your vantage point, how has the relationship between the UC campuses and the national labs changed since the end of the Cold War?

I think the change has been dramatic. For many years the labs operated independently from the campuses. There was some interaction with UCOP, but the interaction between Livermore and Los Alamos with the campuses was minimal. Today, we have all sorts of exchanges – faculty exchanges, student exchanges, huge joint research efforts between faculty on our campuses and the labs. I think our faculty and students benefit greatly from this interaction – but also our country and the labs benefit enormously. The interaction is very different, much more intensive. When you look at the new developments that have come out of the labs – on homeland defense, large-scale computing – you can really see how the interplay made these things possible.

What are you going to do now?

Well, I am going to be retired, obviously. But I will have an office at UCSD, and will go to seminars and hopefully get back to teaching a course on occasion – if the faculty there will let me! I plan to resume my life in the academic world, and sometimes I will have comments on higher education issues, but I don’t plan to spend the rest of my life critiquing higher education or UC.

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