A UC Santa Cruz graduate will have a presence on the University of California Board of Regents for the first time in seven years.
This week, Kenneth A. Feingold (Cowell, ’71, history) was named the fourth UCSC alumnus to represent the campus on the Board of Regents.
His presence will give UCSC an important voice at the table during a time of cutbacks and systemwide budget uncertainty, following a period of adjustments, layoffs and cuts in state funding.
An Alumni Regent Selection Committee consisting of leaders of the UCSC Alumni Association Council chose Feingold, a Los Angeles-based attorney and mediator with the law firm Feingold & Spiegel.
"Ken will bring the unique Santa Cruz perspective to the Regents including an understanding of the role of UC as a vehicle for social mobility for California’s families," said Amy Everitt, past president of the UCSC Alumni Council and chair of the selection committee.
From 1991 to 2007, Feingold served as a trustee of the UC Santa Cruz Foundation. In 2003, he became the first alumnus to be elected president of the Foundation – a position he held until 2005.
Aside from helping to guide the university, Feingold has worked extensively to help young scholars prepare for the future.
In 2000, he and his wife, Moira, whom he met while they were both students at UCSC, established the UCSC-Santa Monica High School Scholarship Endowment Fund, which makes an annual grant to a high school senior planning to attend UCSC.
Feingold will join the Regents during a time of great challenge for the UC system.
"I am honored to have been chosen to serve as a Regent by the UCSC Alumni Association Council," Feingold said Tuesday. "This is a difficult time for the State of California and the University of California. I pledge to work as an alumni Regent to keep our institution strong and responsive to the needs of the students, the faculty and our state."
While Feingold emphasized that each Regent must represent the entire UC system, and not just one campus, he said that alumni Regents bring fresh perspectives to the board.
In his letter of intent to the selection committee, Feingold noted the “chronic budget shortfalls, which will require the Board of Regents to adopt polices and practices that promote efficiencies, control operating costs, and maintain the University’s core values.”
Feingold stressed the importance of the Regents protecting the interests of students, preserving resources that support groundbreaking research, and promoting the public participation of students and faculty.
Two voting Regent positions rotate among the system’s 10 campuses. UC's alumni Regents are selected for two-year terms.
Seven years have passed since a UCSC graduate served on The Regents of the University of California’s 26-member board.
Gary Novack, (Kresge ’73), served as a Regent from 2003 to 2005. He is founder and president of PharmaLogic. Paul Hall, (Merrill ’72), served from 1991 to 1993. He is a partner with the law firm DLA Piper, LLP. Allan Goodman, (Stevenson ’67), a Superior Court judge for Los Angeles County, was the first alumnus to represent UCSC on the Board of Regents. He served from 1979 to 1981.
Feingold will serve the first year as an alumni Regent designate and secretary of the Alumni Associations of the University of California (AAUC). He will attend all meetings and participate in policy discussions but without voting rights. Then, beginning July 1, 2013, he will serve as president of the AAUC and become a full-voting member of the Board of Regents.
To qualify for the alumni Regent position, one must be an active member of the UCSC Alumni Association who holds a degree from UC Santa Cruz and who has demonstrated a strong and longstanding interest in UCSC and the University of California in general.
