Dear Friends,
We have sad, sad news to report.
On March 4, 2010, President Mark “I got into public education by accident” Yudof will be resigning his post as President of the world’s premier public university. This heart-rending news was slipped to us by trusted sources. You can find President Yudof’s full resignation letter on www.MarkYudof.com (we have also pasted it below in its entirety).
As we all know, President Yudof has been an ardent defender of the privatization struggle, often taking extraordinary measures to reduce student diversity, enlarge class sizes, and expand the autocratic administration of the University of California.
While President Yudof bravely slashed the jobs of campus employees by the thousands, gave professors an 8% pay cut, and instituted furloughs for everyone else, he heroically increased top administrator earnings and refused to take a pay cut that would reduce his salary to what the President of the United States receives annually. And who could ever forget all those nifty fee hikes he oversaw!
Despite his goofy appearance, President Yudof has served as a model spokesperson for the UC even once likening it to “a graveyard.”
We thank you President Yudof for forcing your courageous vision for the UC (as tunnel-like as it sometimes might have been) on students, faculty, and campus employees without taking into consideration their thoughts or concerns.
The immense success of your tenure at the UC has reaffirmed our belief that portly old white men really do know what is best for everyone. Your respect for the word “sovereignty” has inspired us all and we will miss you dearly.
March 4, 2010
To the members of the U.C. Community and beyond:
I want to be the first to inform you of my decision to resign as President of the University of California. It has become clear to me over the past several months that my service as president is detrimental to the future of public education in the state of California. As of today, March 4, 2010, I hereby resign my tenure as President.
This was not an easy decision. After considering the future of public education in this state, I have come to believe that efficiency may not be the only factor worth considering in terms of how to run the U.C. I have been struck by the vibrancy of the student occupations and the energy around organizing against the budget cuts. It is clear to me now that we must all do our part to avoid social death. In that spirit, I have decided to go back to school to study the history of social movements.
It is not enough to demand lower fees for students and proper funding for top notch research. We must rethink the entire structure of the University as the first step in rethinking the way our society itself is structured. I look forward to working together with you on this important project.
Sincerely Yours,
Mark Yudof
