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A university is not born, it is created. A university is not just a place of learners, it is a community of learners created out of thoughtful planning and passionate struggle.
The University of California first opened its doors in Berkeley in 1868. Not even a hundred years later, the UC had expanded to five different campuses and was poised to be part of an unprecedented revolution in higher education. Developed in 1960, the California Master Plan for Higher Education mapped out a system to guarantee every California high school graduate a seat in one of the state’s college or university classrooms. The Master Plan established a vision and a model for public education that continues to inspire and challenge California today.
The Master Plan worked out a way to get high school graduates to higher education, but it did not discuss the form undergraduate education should take. Erupting in 1964, the Free Speech Movement challenged the status quo of education and demanded students have a greater voice in the functioning and decisions of the university. The Free Speech Movement and the Master Plan, at times in concert and at other times at odds, were both dedicated to improving higher education in California. They each struggled with questions of accessibility, quality, freedom of speech and community. Foremost, they each wanted to improve California higher education. Their legacy is our current challenge.
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