President James B. Milliken’s opening remarks at the UC Board of Regents September Meeting on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, as delivered
Thank you, Chair Reilly.
I want to begin in my first formal remarks to the Board of Regents by recognizing and thanking the people who have helped make this the greatest university system the world has known.
First, our world-class faculty, upon who the quality, the achievements, and the reputation of this university depend; our students—past, current, future—who benefit from that quality and take it into the world and build on it; our talented and dedicated staff who keep this institution moving every day; our board—a group of dedicated leaders who work long hours to serve the university and the state; our donors who invest in our people and our programs; our Governor and our other elected leadership who recognize this university as a crown jewel of the state, the nation, and the world, and support it; and finally, but of course not least, the extraordinary group of chancellors who lead our campuses and my talented colleagues at the Office of the President.
Thank you for all you do for UC. I am honored to join you.
You and your predecessors have built an extraordinary university that transforms lives. UC’s commitment to access and success makes it a powerful engine of social and economic mobility. It is the largest research enterprise in the world, improving health, savings lives, driving the innovation economy, supporting our national defense, and much more.
But the University of California the world has come to know is now at risk. For years, public confidence in higher education has been sinking. We know at least some of the reasons: perceptions about cost, value, connection to careers, political and cultural indoctrination. We may not agree with all the critics, but it is unwise to ignore them.
To acknowledge this loss of confidence is real and serious—to say yes, we can and should do better—does not in any way justify the conclusion that our great institutions should be decimated.
Taking action against UCLA's research funding does nothing to resolve the real challenges we face in advancing our goals. In fact, it casts a dark shadow over our entire future, calling into question the viability of our institutions, and threatening the future of our state and our nation.
I want to join Chair Reilly in addressing an issue in sharp focus now: the role of the university as the rightful and historical home of debate, controversy, and free speech.
Among the most serious charges leveled at colleges and universities is that we do not truly value the freedom of expression guaranteed at public institutions by the First Amendment of the Constitution.
We must leave no doubt that every one of our campuses, every department, every classroom must be a place where ideas can be expressed openly and without fear or favor, and certainly without threats of violence. This is a basic precept of a liberal democracy and a pillar of public higher education.
We saw last week how precious—and endangered—that precept is. What happened at Utah Valley University forces us to confront this reality with absolute clarity.
As I said that day:
"Charlie Kirk's murder was tragic and reprehensible. Political violence has no place in our society or on our campuses. This wasn't just an attack on an individual; it was an attack on the very freedoms we as a nation hold dear. This is a very sad day."
Two of our fundamental principles were violated.
First, there is nothing more important to university presidents and chancellors than ensuring that our campus communities are free from violence—safe for our students, our faculty, our staff, our patients, and our visitors. This is the concern that keeps university leaders awake at night. Everyone on our campuses must be physically safe. It’s non-negotiable.
Second, the most fundamental obligation of an academic institution is the unfettered pursuit of truth, and essential to that pursuit is the ability of individuals to develop their own ideas, to test them, to argue for them.
These two fundamental values were assaulted last week. It doesn’t matter in the slightest what your political beliefs are or whether you think someone else is right or wrong. You can ignore a speaker, you can argue with them, you attempt to convince others you are on the side of right. What you cannot do in a civilized society is use physical violence against someone with whom you disagree. This is not just my view—it is the foundation upon which great societies and great universities—such as the University of California—are built.
We may not be able to satisfy our critics on all matters; in fact, I'm certain we won’t.
But the chancellors and I pledge to the Regents and to the people of California that we will do everything in our power to keep our campus communities safe. And we will do everything in our power to ensure that our communities are places where constitutional rights of assembly and belief and expression are cherished and protected.
We have no greater, no more solemn obligation. Our democracy and our way of life depend on it.
Thank you.