General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: So any speech by anyone must be allowed an audience and center stage at a [View all]VOX
(22,976 posts)Nominally and in a legal context, yes, they are. But over the decades, state funding has virtually dried up. State funds constitute less than 25% to the overall budget (40 years ago, the UC system received about 87 percent of its core budget from the states general fund). There is also heavy reliance on federal funding for research (mostly medical), which #45 has threatened to cut off. Most other monies have to be raised.
The UC campuses rely HEAVILY on funding from influential individual donors, foundations and corporations. That accounts for the acknowledgment-naming of every structure, anteroom, wing and even elevator banks. These donors just don't shell out millions for nothing. They are stewarded, coddled, entertained and allowed input. It's a sad reality of today's world. (BTW, I know all this as I spent 31 years in an institutional advancement career at one of the UC campuses; where you're NOT a state employee, but rather you're employed by the Regents of UC.)
It's within the realm of possibility that, if one or more multi-million dollar donors did not want someone like Milo Y. or Ann Coulter to speak, those individuals might have some sway as to what happens; they would certainly be listened to, especially if they threatened to cut off installments of their gift(s). As I said above, "public university" in name, but it can get sketchy in certain situations.