Jack Peltason

Jack Walker Peltason (August 29, 1923 – March 21, 2015) was the president of the University of California, and former chancellor of the University of California, Irvine. He died of Parkinson's disease in 2015.[1]

Jack Walker Peltason
16th President of the University of California
In office
1992–1995
Preceded byDavid P. Gardner
Succeeded byRichard C. Atkinson
2nd Chancellor of the University of California, Irvine
In office
1984–1992
Preceded byDaniel Aldrich
Succeeded byLaurel Wilkening
1st Chancellor of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
In office
1967–1977
Succeeded byMorton W. Weir
Personal details
Born(1923-08-29)August 29, 1923
St. Louis, Missouri, United States
DiedMarch 21, 2015(2015-03-21) (aged 91)
Irvine, California, United States
Alma materUniversity of Missouri
Princeton University
ProfessionUniversity administrator, professor

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Peltason was a member of the Smith College faculty from 1947-1951 and then joined the University of Illinois-Urbana faculty. He became dean of the College of Arts and Sciences in 1960. In 1964, he left Illinois to become vice president of academic affairs at the University of California, Irvine. In 1967, he returned to Illinois to become the first chancellor of the Urbana campus and stayed there until 1977 when he returned to Irvine.

Peltason served as president of political science honors society Pi Sigma Alpha from 1978 to 1980, and was also on the executive council of the society from 1970 to 1978.

Peltason served as UC president for only three tumultuous years before announcing in January 1995 that he would retire that October.[2] His relatively brief tenure was marked by two major controversies. First, in more prosperous times, UC had approved generous deferred compensation for its chancellors and other top executives which was no longer politically defensible during the early 1990s recession, and Peltason was forced to spend a great deal of time on the tasks of trimming back UC's executive salary and benefits programs and defending them to the public.[2] Second, in 1994, Regent Ward Connerly and Governor Pete Wilson launched a campaign to prohibit the use of affirmative action in UC admissions. Despite strong opposition from Peltason and most UC senior executives (including UCSF associate dean and future UC President Michael V. Drake),[3] Connerly and Wilson were able to persuade a majority of the Board of Regents to approve two resolutions to that effect on July 20, 1995.[4]

References
  1. "Jack W. Peltason, renowned leader in higher education, dies at age 91". UCI News (Press release). Irvine, California. 2015-03-21. Retrieved 2016-05-13.
  2. Pelfrey, Patricia A. (2012). Entrepreneurial President: Richard Atkinson and the University of California, 1995–2003. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 12. ISBN 9780520952218. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  3. Pelfrey, Patricia A. (2012). Entrepreneurial President: Richard Atkinson and the University of California, 1995–2003. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 6. ISBN 9780520952218. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  4. Pelfrey, Patricia A. (2012). Entrepreneurial President: Richard Atkinson and the University of California, 1995–2003. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 9. ISBN 9780520952218. Retrieved 14 October 2020.


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