UCI Asks Review of Country Club Membership

UC Irvine and Irvine Co. officials responded Monday to two questions dealing with possible conflicts between the institutions growing out of negotiations over development of the “inclusion area.”

UCI Chancellor Jack Peltason said that he had looked into a corporate membership to the exclusive Big Canyon Country Club that had been assigned by the Irvine Co. to John Miltner, UCI vice chancellor for advancement and the university’s lead negotiator in the inclusion area discussions.

Peltason said he found “nothing wrong” with the assignment but had asked Walter B. Gerkin, head of the nonprofit UCI Foundation and chairman of Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Co., to review the matter and to advise him whether an appearance of impropriety existed. In general, the chancellor said, “we’re quite willing to take advantage of the generosity of our friends.”

Peltason also denied that the possibility of the Irvine Co. endowing as many as 40 professorships--at a cost of up to $250,000 each--was part of the discussions over commercial development of the inclusion area. The chancellor said the issues “were never connected, as far as I know” and “there was never any quid pro quo .” The discussions were, he said, “two independent matters, going on simultaneously.”

Gary Hunt, an Irvine Co. vice president, said Monday that “at one time, early in the discussions, both issues were on the table.” At that time, Hunt said it was thought that if commercial development of the inclusion area was successful, “an endowment might be generated from this money.”

Sometime later, Hunt said, “the university took it off the table.”