End in Sight

The regents of the University of California filed into their board room in downtown San Francisco one afternoon last week to settle, if they could, the year's biggest item of unfinished business. The item: what to do with 45 faculty members who still refused to sign the anti-Communist contract clause (TIME, May 1).

President Robert Gordon Sproul started the discussion by totting up the score. The faculty committee on privilege and tenure, he reported, had reviewed the cases, recommended that six of the nonsigners be dismissed. These had refused to tell the committee whether they were Communists or not. The 39 others had denied that they were members of the party or Communist sympathizers, had explained their refusal to sign on grounds of principle. The committee recommended that these be kept.

The regents had no trouble disposing of the first six; they fired them. The big argument came over the 39. "The question is," said Governor Earl Warren, "have any of us any evidence that any one of the 39 is a Communist? ... If not, then accept the recommendation."

The faculty committee had concluded, after lengthy interviews, that none of the 39 was a Communist. Some of the regents were not impressed. Since 99% of the staff had signed, argued Regent John Francis Neylan, "the small balance of 39 is doing the university a great disservice. They should not be retained." At one point, a professor from the faculty committee broke in. Said he: "Rather than having caught Communists, you have caught the free and independent spirits of the university, and if you disregard our report, you will crush great spirits and destroy great scholars."

After 2 1/2 hours of debate, the regents were ready to make up their minds. The vote: 10 to 9 in favor of keeping the 39. With that, the end of California's bitter battle seemed at last in sight.

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