The State : UC Goes for Top Teachers

The University of California is ready to bounce back and meet the stiff competition for top faculty prospects, according to UC President David Gardner. “The adverse circumstances of the 1970s and early 1980s have been reversed,” Gardner told the Board of Regents. He said sharp budget cuts in those years left the university in a position where it “was never less competitive” in gaining first-rate faculty candidates. “The University of California has historically been able to attract over 90% of its first-choice candidates to its faculty,” Gardner said. “But that eroded in the 1970s to about 71%. Now, we are back almost where we were.” The regents were also told that the school will soon start hiring large numbers of new faculty members because 40% of its professors are expected to retire in the next 14 years.