Former UC President Kerr Recalls Legislative Ban on UC Sales That Compete with Private Sector

The issue of the proposed hotel/conference center planned to replace the existing Faculty Center has raised the question of the degree to which UC entities can provide services that compete with private providers. Prior posts on this blog have noted that issue.

In an interview in the 1990s, which dealt in large part with the development of UC-Davis, former UC president Clark Kerr recalled a legislative ban on such sales. He noted that agricultural products produced at Davis could not be sold, especially wine. But the campus could hold free wine tastings which members of the legislature were happy to attend.

You can see the video at the bottom of this entry.

Meanwhile, because the Faculty Center demolition has been put on hold, the president of the Faculty Center sent the following letter to all Center members:

Dear Faculty Center Members:

The results of the vote by the Faculty Center membership on the question - Should the Faculty Center building be torn down to be replaced by a Hotel/Conference Center/Faculty Club? - was as follows:

Yes: 269

No: 815

In addition there were 69 ballots which were not counted because the outer envelope did not indicate the name of the voting member. This is an outstanding turnout with a large majority favoring retaining the current Faculty Center building. The results have been communicated to the Administration.

In response to this vote and reservations concerning the proposed project voiced by the Academic Senate, the Administration has delayed a final decision on the project while it consults the various interested parties. The Faculty Center is now accepting reservations for events until June 30, 2012.

We will keep you informed as events develop.

Dick Weiss

President
Faculty Center Board of Governors