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By Russell Schoch Be careful when you mention the University of California to William Bagley '49, Boalt '52. "Don't get me started," Bagley warns, and although he's smiling, he means it. His voice breaks and then stops, and tears come to his eyes when he reflects on what he proudly calls “my University.” Reflection is in order these days because former state legislator and UC regent Bill Bagley has been selected as Alumnus of the Year, the California Alumni Association's highest honor. It's apparent that he is completely sincere when, waving his hands at the numerous honors already displayed on the walls of his law office, he says: "This is the most wonderful award of my life." Pressed to explain the meaning Cal holds for him, Bagley's voice booms out: "The University is my whole damn life, my foundation, my base." A poor kid coming out of the Depression era, Bagley embraced and thoroughly loved the experience he had at the University. And, ever since, Bagley has been a lover and defender of Cal, showing his Blue and Gold colors as a state assemblyman for 14 years and a UC regent for 13 years. "As a regent, Bill Bagley was a principled, courageous, and committed champion of the University," observes David P. Gardner, M.A. '59, Ph.D. '66, another Alumnus of the Year (for 1988) and former president of the University of California. "As a Berkeley alumnus, he remains one of its outspoken defenders, cherishing his memories as a student, and advancing its future." Bagley is the grandson of Luigi Baglietto, an Italian sea captain who jumped his own ship in San Francisco, where he opened up a bar in 1887. Bagley's father was picked by A.P. Giannini to become the fourth employee of the Bank of Italy, now the Bank of America, and was a wealthy man until the stock market crash of 1929. The family moved into its summer cottage--two rooms and a pot-bellied stove--in tiny Woodacre. In 1941, with war against Italy looming, Bill's father changed the family name to Bagley.
But Bagley was not always on the winning side of issues. In response to the unrest on campus in the late 1960s, the State Legislature passed a resolution censuring the University of California. "I was the only Republican voting no," recalls Bagley. "I stood up and said, 'You may try to censure the University of California, but I want to tell you'"--and here Bagley's normally booming voice drops to a heavy whisper--"'the University of California is much bigger than this body and will outlast all of you sitting here.'" In 1974, Bagley left the Assembly to run, unsuccessfully, for state controller. He then served on a number of public agencies, including the advisory board of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission. He was appointed by President Ford as the first chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and he later became a member of the California Public Utilities Commission, and a member, and then chair, of the California Transportation Commission. In the early 1980s, he joined the firm of Nossaman, Guthner, Knox & Elliott, where he is now a senior partner in the San Francisco office. "I have my law partners to thank for giving me the time and the luxury to be of service to the state and to the University," he says. In the late 1980s, Bagley was having lunch in the city with his old friend and former legislative colleague, George Dukemajian, who was then governor of the state. A member of the Board of Regents had died, and the vacancy needed to be filled. Bagley said: "You know, George, I'm an Old Blue. I'd love to go on the Board of Regents!" The governor replied: "Oh, Bill, it's so boring." But Bagley got his wish, served one year, and then was appointed to his own 12-year (non-boring) term in 1990. From his long association with the University, Bagley says that the Board of Regents normally, and properly, allows the University to run itself. But, every couple of decades or so, it steps in with a heavy foot for what he calls "cause politics." Bagley is outspoken in his criticism of what he sees as the regents' blatantly political actions. "The firing of Clark Kerr in 1968 was done to give Reagan a shot at the Presidency," Bagley says sternly. "That was the reason. Reagan was going to pander to the right wing, to use the University, my University, for political purposes. And then, in 1995, here comes Pete Wilson, running for President, trying to look right wing, and using a colleague on the Board of Regents as a foil to have the board pass its resolution against affirmative action." Bagley says that the only governor who was not interested in running for President during Bagley's career was the man who appointed him. "And it was George Dukemajian who, with UC president David Gardner, brought the University back into good graces and financial health," following the cutbacks under Reagan and Jerry Brown, says Bagley. Since the 1995 vote against affirmative action at the University, a key goal for this year's Alumnus of the Year was to rescind the measure. He finally accomplished that last year. "I've said time and time again, the issue is not whether you're for or against affirmative action. The issue is: Should the University lead a charge on a political issue? My answer is: Absolutely not!" "Bill Bagley is an irrepressible, loquacious, delightful human being," says William Coblenz '43, former UC regent and prominent San Francisco lawyer. "He seems to be on the right side of everything touching the University. And when it comes to the rights of students and faculty, he stands up for what he considers to be the correct thing to do, which really involves free speech and free expression." Another cause championed by Bagley, who served on the CAA Board of Directors in the 1950s, is the Achievement Award Program (TAAP), the CAA's recently introduced scholarship program for students with need who have excelled academically (and qualified for admission), despite tremendous hardship. "These are the kind of students we need to help," Bagley says. "They remind me a bit of myself when I came out of high school--except that the fees I paid were miniscule compared to those charged today." Bagley says his devotion to helping others began for him in the fifth grade, when he was elected class president. "I like to call it public service," Bagley says. "It's what I've spent my life doing--serving the public, championing civil rights, and fighting for the public's right to know. The wonderful thing I've found is that public service not only expands your horizons, it gives you the opportunity to do something good in the process." |
 Photos by Lonny Shavelson
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