SACRAMENTO — The UC Center Sacramento, a UC Davis-based program that steeps students in public policy, state government and public affairs journalism, was formally rededicated Jan. 31 during a reception that attracted more than two dozen legislators and some of UC’s newest regents.

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, both ex officio regents by virtue of their election wins in November, were introduced by graduates of the center, which briefly suspended operations in a wave of deep, systemwide budget cuts two years ago.

As part of an ambitious new mission, UC Center Sacramento Director Robert Huckfeldt, a UC Davis political science professor, announced that former Assemblyman Roger Niello will serve as the center’s first governance fellow, sharing his experience as a state lawmaker with UC students who come from around the UC system.

Originally established by the UC Office of the President, the center was saved last year when UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi agreed to have her campus manage it.

Contributing to 'good governance'

During the Jan. 31 rededication, UC President Mark G. Yudof said the center stands as an example of the many different ways in which the 10-campus system serves the people of California.

“We take care of people who are sick in our wonderful medical centers,” Yudof said. “We do the research to come up with alternative energy or new health systems, to create jobs and new products for the state.

“But we also contribute directly to good governance in the state. At the same time, I think it is important that the students have experiences outside the classroom.”

The center has operated since 2004 from its offices in a UC-owned building at 12th and K streets, one block north of the Capitol. During that time, more than 600 UC students — an average of 120 a year — have enrolled in classes there.

The center offers public policy and public affairs journalism classes that include internships in lawmakers’ offices, the Legislature’s policy committees, state agencies and bureaus of the Capitol press corps. As a result, many UC Center students have gone on to state government, lobbying and press corps positions.

Three primary goals

Under an agreement with the Office of the President, UC Davis agreed to take responsibility for the continued operation of a reconfigured center that pursues three primary goals:

• Connecting UC research scholars, including collaborative efforts among all the campuses, with state policymakers in the governor's office, the Legislature and state agencies.

• Creating a public policy research center focused on significant state and national issues.

• Maintaining an academic public policy program, which includes internships, as well as continuing a collaborative relationship with UC Berkeley to sponsor a summer journalism program.

“It is clear that our state is facing a profound and fundamental challenge,” Katehi said at the Jan. 31 rededication. “We know that the way we respond to this challenge will determine our quality of life for many generations to come.

“This really means that UC Center Sacramento and the policy and research expertise it provides is more essential now than at any other time in the past.”

The center, Katehi said, is a “perfect fit” for UC Davis, helping to fulfill the campus’s land-grant mission and taking advantage of the campus's close proximity to the Capitol.

The reinvigorated center

In the relatively short time since UC Davis took over the center, Huckfeldt and others there have played major roles in a panel of political experts — carried live on the Web — that handicapped the Sept. 28 gubernatorial debate at UC Davis and an election post-mortem that drew many of the Capitol’s most influential political insiders.

“The UC Center is testimony to the fact that our university wants to be part of the solution to the problems facing the state of California,” Huckfeldt said.

Whitney Staniford, a Torlakson aide who introduced her boss, told the gathering that she had never dreamed of working in state government before taking a class at the center.

“I absolutely believe in the program,” she said. “It revolutionized my UC education.”

Torlakson, a UC Berkeley graduate, said his daughter, Tamara, a UC Santa Cruz alumna, also went through the center.

“The energy you have here, combined with your skill, your idealism, your vision for a better and brighter future. … We are all blessed to have this program,” he said.

Newsom said he relishes his position on the Board of Regents, which provides a platform “to focus on the one thing that defines the success and the greatness of our state — human capital."

“At the end of the day, nothing else matters,” he said. “And what has made California what it is today — you know this, it is self-evident — is that we have always outeducated … and, as a consequence, we’ve outcompeted.”

On the Web

UC Center Sacramento unveiled a new website to go along with the center’s Jan. 31 rededication — marking the transfer of the center’s administration from the Office of the President to UC Davis last September.

A banner headline at the top of the page notes the university’s three-pronged mission: academics, research and public service.

The headline puts emphasis on public service, and the accompanying feature photos underscore that message. For example, one photo invites legislative offices, government agencies and others to “request an intern.”

The index includes links to “Request an Intern,” as well as the centers’ Academic Policy Program and Journalism Program.

The last item in the index is a link to the center’s new electronic newsletter: Center of the Capital. If you would like to subscribe, look for the e-mail contact at the bottom of the newsletter.