Earning my degree : memoirs of an American university president / David Pierpont Gardner ; with a foreword by Vartan Gregorian.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gardner, David Pierpont, 1933-2024.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Gardner, David Pierpont, 1933-2024.

Gardner, David Pierpont.

University of California, Berkeley--Presidents--Biography.

University of California, Berkeley.

College presidents--United States--Biography.

College presidents.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (485 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : University of California Press, c2005.

Language Note:

English

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Summary:

David Pierpont Gardner was president of one of the world's most distinguished centers of higher learning-the nine-campus University of California-from 1983 to 1992. In this remarkably candid and lively memoir he provides an insider's account of what it was like for a very private, reflective man to live an extremely public life as leader of one of the most complex and controversial institutions in the country. Earning My Degree is a portrait of uncommon leadership and courage and a chronicle of how these traits shaped a treasured, and sometimes mystifying, American institution. Before his tenure as president, Gardner spent seven years at the University of California, Santa Barbara, during a tumultuous era of culture wars, ethnic division, and anti-Vietnam War protests, leaving his post as vice chancellor to serve as vice president of the University of California from 1971 to 1973. In 1973 he was named president of the University of Utah, and while there he chaired the National Commission on Excellence in High Education, which authored A Nation at Risk, regarded today as the twentieth century's most telling report on the condition of American public schools. As president of the University of California, he contended with intense controversies over affirmative action, animal rights, AIDS research, weapons labs, divestment in South Africa, and much more. This memoir recounts his experiences with these and other issues and describes his dealings with the diverse cast of characters who influence the university: U.S. presidents, governors, legislators, regents, chancellors, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and donors. The epilogue of Earning My Degree is a thoughtful and engaging account of the ten years since Gardner's retirement that includes his personal views about what has truly mattered in his life.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction. Fiat Lux

1. Youth and Lessons Learned

2. The Apprenticeship Years

3. Serving the University of Utah

4. A Nation at Risk

5. Back to the Blue and Gold

6. The Workings of the University and the Crucial First Year

7. The University on the Move

8. Bumps and Barriers Along the Way

9. The Public and Diplomatic Life

10. Tragedy and Tribulation

Epilogue. Years of Renewal and Personal Reflections

Appendix 1. UC's Long-Range Planning Estimates for 1988-2006 by Campus

Appendix 2. Text of the Regents' Action on the Separation of David P. Gardner as President of the University of California, in Special Session, April 20, 1992

Appendix 3. David S. Webster and Tad Skinner's "Rating PhD Programs: What the NRC Report Says . . . and Doesn't Say" on the UC System

Appendix 4. University History Series, Regional Oral History Office

Appendix 5. Education, Professional Activities, Honors, and Awards, with Bibliography of David P. Gardner

Appendix 6. Samples of Articles about or Conversations with David P. Gardner, 1983-1992 / 396

Notes

Credits

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 393-395) and index.

Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

ISBN:

9786612357510

9780520931114

0520931114

9781282357518

1282357514

9781598755268

1598755269

OCLC:

475938181