Former UC President Jack Peltason dies, remembered for leadership

Jack Peltason, a former University of California president who played an instrumental role in the development of UC Irvine as chancellor, died on March 21 from Parkinson’s disease. He was 91.

“(Peltason) felt that there was no more exciting place to be than a university campus,” said his son Tim Peltason.

Born Aug. 29, 1923, in St. Louis, Peltason earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Missouri. His teaching career began at Smith College in Northampton, Mass., and his administrative career started at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he rose to the position of dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

As a political scientist, Peltason co-authored a textbook on American democracy called “Government by the People,” which remained a standard American government textbook for decades.

Peltason first joined the UC system in 1963, becoming the first dean of the College of Arts, Letters and Science at UC Irvine. He was responsible for hiring the college’s first faculty and administrators, organizing the departments and setting graduation requirements.

A year later, he became the school’s vice chancellor of academic affairs and helped organize the school’s academic framework, which is still largely in place today.

Among his coworkers, Peltason was known for his sense of humor.

“He was just Jack, not stuffy at all, always making quips and treating everyone with kindness,” said James McGaugh, a professor at UCI who was friends with Peltason for more than 50 years.

McGaugh worked under Peltason when he was vice chancellor.

“He used to call me ‘Fighting Jim’ because he thought I was too aggressive in the beginning,” McGaugh said. “Despite being a very accomplished scholar and administrator, he created no social distance, so everyone felt that they knew him personally.”

At home, his son said he acted with the same modesty and never demanded to be the center of attention.

“The star of the show was always whichever grandchild or great-grandchild was running around at the time,” Tim Peltason said.

He served as chancellor of UC Irvine from 1984 to 1992. During this time, he guided the university through a period of rapid expansion that included construction of multiple campus projects and a spike in enrollment.

“Jack was an inspiration to me when I was a graduate student (at UCLA) studying politics and law,” said UC Irvine Chancellor Howard Gillman in a statement. “One of the great privileges of coming to (UC Irvine) was getting to know him, and benefiting from his wisdom, advice and good humor.”

Peltason served as UC president from 1992 to 1995 during a turbulent period of budget cuts, and many critics have said that at 69, he was too old for the job.

“When he was approached about taking over as president, he was sobered by the responsibility but excited about the opportunity,” Tim Peltason said. “He said it was too important to say ‘no’ to.”

His son added that his father’s enthusiasm for higher education inspired him to pursue a career as a professor at Wellesley College in Massachusetts.

Despite the initial skepticism surrounding his presidency, Peltason managed to stabilize the UC system’s financial crisis by creating a multiyear funding compact with then-Gov. Pete Wilson and endorsing the first early retirement program for UC faculty and staff.

“Although we didn’t always agree on everything, Jack held things together during a very difficult time, remaining outgoing and gregarious throughout,” said Charles E. Young, chancellor emeritus of UCLA.

While some commended Peltason for bringing financial stability to the University with the budget compact, others felt that students had to bear the burden of the consequences through increased tuition and fees.

Despite these concerns, McGaugh said he thinks Peltason’s presidency was a time during which few questioned the quality of the administration.

“There were very few complaints about who was in charge because he was so approachable and open to ideas,” McGaugh said. “His decisions reflected the values of those around him, so everyone felt that they had a voice.”

Following his departure from office in 1995 at the age of 72, Peltason donated a large portion of his retirement bonus to establish a scholarship fund at UC Irvine in his and his wife’s name. UC President Janet Napolitano presented him with the President’s Medal, the University’s highest honor, last year.

“Few have contributed more than Jack Peltason to the (UC’s) development and growth,” Napolitano said in a statement on March 23.

He is survived by his wife Suzanne, children Nancy, Tim and Jill, seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. A funeral for Peltason was held this weekend.