Ending a Potential Conflict

A series of stories last Sunday detailed the development of the Irvine Medical Center and the working relationship between the three Irvines--the community, the campus and the company. In the articles, staff writer Mark I. Pinsky disclosed a potential conflict that should be corrected.

John Miltner, UC Irvine’s vice chancellor for university advancement, has the use of a membership in the exclusive Big Canyon Country Club. The membership is provided by the Irvine Co. And it’s worth about $20,000.

There is nothing wrong with Miltner belonging to the Big Canyon club. As chief fund-raiser and negotiator for the university, it makes good sense for him to socialize with the county’s movers and shakers who are in a position to make sizable donations to the university and who happen to frequent such clubs.

The university must rely on its fund-raising ability to supplement what it doesn’t receive from the state. And after all, it is a well-known precept in fund raising that people give to people, not just to an institution.

The problem in Miltner’s Irvine Co. membership at Big Canyon is that he belongs at the pleasure of the company and, as Irvine Co. Vice President Gary Hunt has noted, the membership can be withdrawn at any time.

At this moment, Miltner is involved in delicate negotiations with the Irvine Co. over commercial projects that will have considerable economic impact on both. We do not in any way suggest that a country club membership, or any other perk, would in any way influence Miltner. But the appearance of such a conflict could easily raise public suspicion and distrust and erode public confidence in the institution.

That’s a risk UCI Chancellor Jack Peltason should not continue to take. It would be better for the university, the Irvine Co. and the public if the university cut that tie to the Irvine Co. and bought its own club membership for Miltner’s use.