Hale Fellow at Yale

UNRUH ON WAY. called the Town Crier, newspaper of Yale's Timothy Dwight College. So he was--and Yale did not know quite what to expect of California's Jesse Marvin Unruh (pronounced un-rue), who was traveling East to become this year's first Chubb Fellow.

At 40, "Big Daddy" Unruh is the elephantine (265 lbs.) mastermind of California's Democratic Party. Speaker of the state assembly, he is proud of the way he has manipulated lobbyists into contributing to the party. "Money," he says, "is the mother's milk of politics." Unruh directed Democratic Governor Pat Brown's winning campaign against Richard Nixon this year, is considered Jack Kennedy's favor ite California politician. He has also been a four-letter man--although not in the way that Yale usually thinks of one.

Wit When Required. For all his massive confidence, Unruh was a bit taken back when invited to be a Chubb Fellow. The prestigious fellowship was endowed by Insurance Executive Hendon Chubb ('95) to encourage student interest in public affairs. Each year four or five public dignitaries take residence for five days, share in the life of Yale and Timothy Dwight College, make a speech and answer a lot of questions. Past Chubb Fellows include Harry Truman, Clement Attlee, Dean Acheson, Herbert Brownell. Adlai Stevenson, Chester Bowles and Barry Goldwater. Against such a cast of characters, Unruh could only say on arrival: "I guess I'm the chubbiest Chubb Fellow you've had." As it turned out, he was also one of the most charming.

Throughout the week, Big Daddy mixed with the Yalemen, astonishing them with his skill and speed at pingpong, delicately holding teacups in his huge hands, impressing earnest undergraduates by throwing around such terms as "technocratic populist" and "social pluralism." When wit was required, he had it. Why does California have such extremes of right and left in its politics? "We have such a lush climate that both fruits and nuts flourish." What would he have done if he had been Nixon's campaign manager? "Cut my throat." Did he have any advice to the Yaleman who wants to go into politics? "Take a postgraduate course at Harvard." Did he have visions of becoming California's Governor one day? Said Big Daddy good-naturedly: "I'm not the most attractive-looking guy in the world--which seems to matter nowadays."

The Serious Side. But he could also be deadly serious, and the burden of his message was that "the academic community is not entering into politics as much as it should." A student challenged him with the obvious question: "Aren't there enough professors around Kennedy?" Unruh grinned and stuck to his guns. "The academic world," he insisted, "is not giving us--the politicians--the solution to any of the pressing social problems, or if they are, they're not getting them across in a meaningful way." It is important, he said, "to have good liaison between the fountainhead of ideas and the catch pool. Those of us in the day-to-day political world are the best interpreters. But very few original conceptions evolve from the purely political world. These must come from our intellectual centers."

Yale enjoyed this kind of talk, and at week's end it was indeed sorry to say goodbye to its latest Mr. Chubb. As for Jesse Unruh, he took away with him some good memories, plus one souvenir Yale sweatshirt and necktie.

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