ALS signed “RR,” one page both sides, 5.75 x 8.75, May 5, 1967. Letter to Professor Hine, in part: “Your words about faculty morale or lack of it added to a concern I’ve felt for some time. At the risk of seeming to pass the buck may I point out that most of the factors causing the lowered morale were introduced by Uni. personnell [sic]. Perhaps it would be good to review the history of this whole regrettable affair. When we became aware of the state’s financial plight we asked for a meeting with those who handle the Uni’s finances. Our finance director Gordon Smith has worked with a number of educational institutions when his management consultant firm was employed to help them with finance problems. It was his intention to have a series of meetings to see where we could mutually find help in solving the states problems without endangering the quality of the Uni. Within twenty four hours of the first meeting we were under attack as if we had delivered an ultimatum. Frankly I think some members of the academic community deliberately attacked in an effort to mobilize public opinion without waiting to see whether we were in fact reasonable or otherwise. I can tell you now my faith in some I’d previously held in high esteem has been sadly shaken. Let me assure I will never practice or permit political interference with the Uni & I have no intention of presiding over the deterioration of educational quality.” Handsomely double-matted and framed with an engraved portrait of Reagan to an overall size of 18.75 x 15.5, with a window on the reverse for viewing the complete letter. In fine condition, with secretarial notations and red ballpoint struck through the text, not affecting readability.
Having focused his campaign heavily on supressing the anti-war and anti-establishment protests plaguing California universities—and proposing a ten-percent budget cut at the University of California within his first months as governor—Reagan had a tenuous relationship with his state's educational institutions. In this letter to Robert Hine, a longtime professor at UC Riverside and a leading scholar in the historiography of the American West, he expresses his dismay for what he perceives to be an aggressive academic community. Less then two years later, the issue would reach its boiling point, with Reagan controversially deciding to quell a student protest at UC Berkeley by calling in 2200 National Guard troops, leading to a devastating riot known thereafter as 'Bloody Thursday.' An excellent letter regarding one of the hot-button issues of Reagan's governorship. Pre-certified PSA/DNA.
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