UCLA makes its home in the glitz capital of the world. Probably
unknown to the campus’s leader, I and a few others jokingly,
but affectionately, bestowed Albert Carnesale with the title
“The Hollywood Chancellor.”
An unabashed pitchman, his savvy and charisma have served the
university well, pulling in hundreds of millions of dollars from
Los Angeles’ glam-bam donors.
I remember watching Carnesale command audiences filled with the
nation’s wealthiest business and political powerhouses.
Every time, he would have them rolling with laughter at both his
humor and his fast-talking antics. And he’s earned high marks
among the regents as one of the university’s top
money-makers.
Carnesale is a big-screen chancellor with a slick personality
and movie-star swank.
But it isn’t just him. The University of California as a
whole is just a tad bit “Hollywood.”
When I was the student regent, the board was strewn with L.A.
media moguls such as then-President of Paramount Pictures Sherry
Lansing; “Power Rangers” creator and kid-cartoon
producer Haim Saban; and the founder of the largest radio
conglomerate, Norm Pattiz.
But the dark side of glamor is exclusivity. Nowadays it seems
just as difficult to get a dinner reservation at the Ivy as it
would be for a black or Chicano student to get an acceptance letter
to UCLA or UC Berkeley.
When we face the facts, racial and ethnic diversity at the
UC’s top campuses is dismal.
I’m not necessarily pinning this on Carnesale; he assumed
the chancellorship after Proposition 209 was passed ““ this
amendment to the state constitution eliminated race-conscious
admissions policies and decimated the numbers of underrepresented
minorities at UC’s top campuses.
In fact, Carnesale has made many notable attempts to stem the
decline of underrepresented students at UCLA. He has raised
millions of dollars for community and educational development
programs in Los Angeles.
Despite these and many other efforts, the number of
underrepresented minorities at UCLA just hasn’t climbed back
to where it was before, let alone reflect the diversity of
California’s population.
We have learned in the 10 years since the passage of Proposition
209 that, despite all of our best efforts, we cannot achieve racial
diversity and equal representation without fundamental change in
policy.
Carnesale has earned high praise for his overall performance
from the regents and much of the university community. He will
leave UCLA having raised an unprecedented amount of private
funding, having overseen one of the most comprehensive campus
construction developments and having advanced the campus’s
rankings in several national surveys.
But the plot is left hanging on the question of diversity.
As Carnesale leaves with many accolades, I wish him well in his
teaching and other endeavors. I’m certain he will bring a
touch of class and cachet to whatever he does.
And as his successor takes center stage, we look to him or her
to be a fearless leader in pushing for change in university and
state policy to achieve true equal opportunity and diversity within
one of the nation’s greatest universities.
Ligot-Gordon was the 2002-2003 student regent.