SAN FRANCISCO — Even at his final meeting as a member of the University of California's Board of Regents, Ward Connerly was doing what he had done through much of his 12-year tenure there: focusing on the contentious issue of race.
And, as he noted, no doubt making many on the board -- and in the wider public -- more than a little uneasy.
"I sense some discomfort among my colleagues and in the audience as we talk about things in terms of black and white," Connerly said near the end of a debate he instigated this week on the merits of affirmative action in U.S. law schools. "That's understandable. But it's vitally important."
Never mind that UC, because of campaigns he helped lead, cannot consider race in its admissions to law schools or anywhere else.
Almost from the beginning of his term, the Sacramento land use consultant has been stirring things up on the often otherwise sedate UC governing board. Eloquent and frequently combative, he broke into the national spotlight in 1995 by pushing the university to dismantle its affirmative action programs in admissions and employment.
In 1996, he helped lead the successful campaign for Proposition 209, which ended racial and gender preferences in the state's government and universities. He later helped pass a similar measure in Washington state and is now engaged in another such campaign in Michigan.
A man of mixed race, Connerly became a hero to some as the most public face -- and outspoken voice -- of the movement against race-based preferences.
But his strong views also earned him the unflagging hostility of advocacy groups and others who branded him an "Uncle Tom" and accused him of trying to resegregate the prestigious public university system.
In recent months, as his term drew to a close, small groups of students staged angry demonstrations, trying to ensure that he was not reappointed. Connerly, 65, who underwent treatment last year for prostate cancer, said he did not want a second term.
Even some who praise his integrity, including fellow Regent Judith Hopkinson, say his actions have done harm.
"The elimination of affirmative action has resulted in UC not providing opportunities for minorities that are desperately important to the state and to these individuals, and that's certainly done damage," said Hopkinson, who has sparred with Connerly on some topics and worked with him on others.
