UC Supporters Vow to Continue Fighting Disastrous Plan to Place the University Under Direct Control of the State Legislature

SAN FRANCISCO--(Business Wire)--
A group of University of California graduates, California employers and other
University supporters reacted cautiously today to news that proposed legislation
designed to strip the University system of 140 years of independent governance
and place it under the direct control of the state Legislature may be shelved.

"We are encouraged by reports that this misguided legislation may be tabled, but
as long as it remains active it represents a threat to one of our state`s
greatest assets," said Warren Hellman, a UC Berkeley graduate, longtime UC
supporter and San Francisco business owner.

"The University of California has flourished for more than 140 years precisely
because its founders wisely recognized the imperative for keeping politics out
of education, learning and scientific discovery," Hellman said. "We can`t
imagine a more harmful and ill-conceived plan than what Sen. Leland Yee has
concocted to expose the University of California to the corrosive influences of
Sacramento politics."

At least one recent news report indicated that Sen. Yee`s bill and a companion
bill authored by Assemblyman Brian Nestande had been shelved for the current
legislative session. However, Sen. Yee also indicated that he would not abandon
his legislation.

Hellman and 22 other prominent UC supporters, including Intel founder Gordon
Moore, legendary physicist Theodore Geballe, Chiron co-founder Ed Penhoet and
former Levi Strauss CEO Robert Haas, recently sent a letter to all state
Legislators asking that Yee`s bill (SCA21) and a companion bill (ACA24)
introduced in the state Assembly be immediately withdrawn.

Californians for an Independent UC was joined in its opposition to Sen. Yee`s
bill by the UC Academic Senate, a group representing almost 16,000 faculty
members from throughout the UC system. The Academic Senate unanimously approved
a resolution opposing Sen. Yee`s and Assemblyman Nestande`s bills.

In addition to the letter that Californians for an Independent UC sent to state
legislators, the group has launched a website to support its activities
(www.IndependentUC.com) and is preparing a grassroots and communications program
to alert Californians about the harm that SCA21 will cause.

Among the destructive effects of SCA21 on the University of California that
supporters cited in the letter are:

* diminishing UC`s ability to attract and retain the best and brightest leaders,
academics and researchers;
* exposing UC governance to the corrosive influence of partisan politics;
* subjecting decisions regarding academic and scientific research to political
calculation;
* devaluing UC`s hard-earned and well-deserved international reputation as an
institution of integrity, innovation and independence;
* reducing educational quality and the quality of scientific research; and,
* increasing UC`s vulnerability to the state`s own budget instability.

"We don`t have to look much farther than the intransigence and almost complete
dysfunction that define our state`s broken budget process to understand why
placing the University of California under the control of the state Legislature
makes no sense at all," said Gordon Moore, founder of Intel. "Subjecting
decisions about learning and scientific discovery to political ideology and
partisan gamesmanship would be disastrous for UC and for California."

Under the continuous and autonomous governance by the Board of Regents over the
past 140 years, the University of California has grown into one of the world`s
leading and most-respected public institutions of higher education and
scientific discovery - California`s "crown jewel." Its 10 undergraduate
universities consistently rank among the best in the nation and its 32 Nobel
laureates are the most of any university system in the world.

"As a Berkeley graduate and lifelong scientist, I know the value to learning,
innovation and discovery of keeping politics and secular interests out of our
classrooms and laboratories," said Theodore Geballe, whose landmark materials
research helped launch California`s high-tech industry. "Subjecting UC to state
control would chill the atmosphere of scientific freedom necessary to attract
the best faculty and researchers and promote innovation."

In addition to its scientific and academic value, the University is one of
California`s chief economic drivers and one of the main reasons the state has
become a global leader in new industries like biotech, high tech and clean tech.
UC has spun off hundreds of new businesses, creating new jobs, launching new
industries and providing the state`s employers with a highly educated workforce.

The University`s vast scientific accomplishments and success in educating
millions of undergraduate students have come despite dramatically declining
support from state government, whose funding for UC`s core education program has
dropped by 40 percent over the past 20 years. Even with the significant fee
increases that have been necessary to help offset the state`s dwindling
financial contributions and keep pace with continuing enrollment growth, the
University`s undergraduate student fees remain below the average of comparable
universities. At the same time, the University has increased financial aid for
lower-income students.

"You don`t have to be a UC graduate or even a UC supporter to see why Sen. Yee`s
bill is bad for California," Hellman said. "California has many challenges, but
fixing something that isn`t broken isn`t one of them."

For Californians for an Independent UC
Rufus Jeffris, 415-994-0604 (Cell)

Copyright Business Wire 2009