Clark Kerr defined and put into place what is essentially the modern version of the University of California and built the wherewithal for developing and sustaining academic quality. He defined the structure of multiple campuses all with the same research mission and equal opportunity. He fostered the ambitious conversion of three specialized sites and the creation of three entirely new campuses, all to become general campuses with equal opportunity. These steps provided enrollment capacity for the next sixty years. He decentralized governance so that the nature and scope of academic programs became defined by campuses individually, subject to Presidential and Regental approval of new colleges, schools, and programmatic initiatives with substantial budgetary impact. He instituted highly consultative methods of decision-making. He placed substantial emphasis on building academic quality, including high standards and strengthening of the Academic Senate’s roles in the academic appointment, promotion, and advancement processes. He created strong involvement of the Academic Senate in the initial development of new campuses, thereby helping to assume high academic quality from the start.
