California State University Board Of Trustees

Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg (D-Los Angeles) called for a conflict-of-interest investigation of a member of the California State University Board of Trustees who is president of the California Business Roundtable. Goldberg, at the request of the Cal State faculty union, said R. William Hauck is using his position as a trustee to "push" the business group's "agenda of increasing student tuition and fees," disregarding the interests of students. Hauck could not be reached for comment.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has announced two appointments to the governing boards of the state's public university systems. The appointments, announced Monday, will require approval from the state Senate, which posed a problem 10 years ago for one of the candidates. John Hotchkis, chief executive of Ramajal, an investment management firm, was appointed to the UC Board of Regents. Hotchkis, a Republican, served as a UC regent for a year until his permanent appointment was blocked in 1998 by Senate Democrats before the election that brought a Democratic governor, Gray Davis, to Sacramento.

Making his first appointments to the governing boards of the state's two public university systems, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger named an eclectic group Friday that included lawyers, academics, a film producer and the governor's personal investment advisor. The appointments -- two to the University of California's Board of Regents and eight to the California State University's Board of Trustees -- fill all open slots on the panels, which set policy for the universities.

Alice Huffman, a retired teachers union lobbyist and political advisor to former Assembly Speaker Willie Brown Jr., was appointed to the California State University Board of Trustees on Monday by Gov. Gray Davis. Under Huffman, the California Teachers Assn., one of the state's biggest contributors to Democrats' campaigns, enjoyed extraordinary influence in the Legislature in the 1990s and had direct access to Brown, now San Francisco mayor.

A key committee of California State University's board of trustees voted Tuesday to oppose Proposition 54, a state ballot initiative that would bar state agencies from collecting many types of racial or ethnic data. The Cal State board's Committee on Governmental Relations took the stance by a 6-0 vote. The full board is expected to ratify that action today.

Gov. Gray Davis has nominated a former faculty union president to the board of trustees of California State University, a move that brought a quick denunciation from the chancellor's office of the 23-campus system. Nominated was Susan Meisenhelder, who served as president of the California Faculty Assn. for four years until her second two-year term ended in June. She continues to be active in the union, serving as the chair of its political action and legislative committee.

The California State University Board of Trustees, citing a desire to attract and retain quality administrators, approved salary increases last week for its top executives and university presidents. The board raised the annual salary of Cal State Chancellor Barry Munitz, who has just completed five years at the helm of the 23-campus institution, from $190,008 to $197,232. The 3.8% raise was backdated to July 1 of this year. By contrast, University of California President Richard C.