Observations
By Katharine C. Lyall, UW System President

Thirty Something

- "We have a saying in the movement that we don't trust anybody over thirty."

Jack Weinberg was a 24-year-old student at Berkeley when he made an off-hand remark that became a cliché. Today, age 60, he lives in Chicago, has gray hair and glasses, and still gets arrested as an activist for environmental causes.

Those of us who were students or faculty in the 1960s and early '70s remember the "generation gap," Woodstock and Kent State. Now the peace symbol medallion is in the back of a drawer, and the tie-dyed T-shirts and bellbottoms have gone to Goodwill (to be recycled by 21st Century teenagers).

We probably don't remember where we were or what we were doing on Tuesday, Oct. 12, 1971. The year's eventual "Best Picture," The French Connection, opened over the weekend, so maybe we were at the movies. Monday Night Football was in its second year on television, so perhaps we watched a game the night before.

Yet Oct. 12 proved to be historic for those of us connected with the University of Wisconsin System. On that date, a legislative act (S. 213) took effect that merged the state's two public higher education systems under a single president and board of regents. While it would take another three years for governing legislation (Chapter 36) to be revised and enacted, our merged system was effectively born on an autumn day 30 years ago.

It was not an easy delivery, as Erik Christianson's article in this issue points out. Some still debate whether the merger was "good" or "bad," but for most of us the case is closed and the verdict is in. We have always been "26 campuses plus statewide extension." A united, seamless, university system made sense in 1971 and has proven its worth to Wisconsin ever since.

Most states reached the same conclusion during the post-war expansion of public higher education, an expansion fueled by the G.I. Bill and the Baby Boom. To control costs and check wasteful duplication of programs, systems were created all over the country. While one state - Florida - has recently dismantled its system structure, most continue to view the university system as a rational way to organize and coordinate the variety of institutions that sprang up or doubled in size after World War II.

The UW System has reached the "big 3-0," and I believe we have proven Jack Weinberg wrong. You can trust the UW System, now that we're over 30!

That's reflected in the thousands of young people who follow in their parents' footsteps by enrolling at our campuses. It's reflected in the alumni and donors who volunteer their time and their gifts to enrich the life of our institutions. It's reflected in legislators and governors who recognize that universities are vital economic and cultural resources deserving of support. Over a span of 30 years, each of us has helped build trust in the UW System. That may be the most precious outcome of the merger.

But I'm pleased to say that we remain radical - eager for change, eager for growth, eager for all citizens to achieve their full potential through learning. Radical comes from the Latin word for "root." Even now that we're a "thirty-something" university system, it's clear to me that we remain rooted in our fundamental mission: ". . . To develop human resources, to discover and disseminate knowledge, to extend knowledge and its application beyond the boundaries of [our] campuses, and to serve and stimulate society . . ."

Journalists used to use the number "30" to identify the end of a news story. For the UW System, I believe that 30 is just the beginning. We have gained trust, proven our worth, and become indispensable to the state and its people. Best of all, we are beginning to function as a unified, coherent system, in fact and not just in name; a "string of pearls" as one regent put it recently, rather than a collection of separate, unconnected beads.

I hope you are as proud as I am to be part of the UW System, and that you will join me - on Oct. 12 and throughout 2001-02 - in celebrating our 30th birthday.

This column is adapted from President Lyall's remarks at the Sept. 24 UW System Administration convocation at the Wisconsin State Historical Society in Madison.