Larry N. Vanderhoef is our venerable Chancellor of UCD. Most everyone on campus knows of him, and he has even been named "Sacramento Resident of the Year", even though he resides in Davis. As one of the most powerful people in the UC, he has made a substancial effort to connect with common students(like a King walking among his troops), and regularly visits the Coho to eat a student-made burrito or the Arc for a game of raquetball. He even makes a presence of the Facebook.
When I worked in the Mail Division, I delivered letters to his council every Friday on the secured and camera-monitored 5th floor of Mrak Hall. I have great respect for his frankly and no-nonsense attitude and have turned to him when all other ears were deaf. Last fall, I wrote him this letter:
The next day, I got this curt response in my geckomail box:
Dear AK,
Chancellor Vanderhoef forwarded your email regarding Wellman Hall to me for follow-up and response. Our campus maintenance staff has found a damper that is malfunctioning and an area of the building ductwork that has separated. Repairs are currently underway and our staff will be monitoring Wellman over the next several days to ensure that the ventilation system is operating effectively.
Sincerely,
Stan Nosek, Vice Chancellor-Administration
Despite the indirectness of his answer and the crude handoff to his Vice, I was satisfied with his diligence. I had been inspired to be a Vanderhoef fan.
"This is a man of the people", I thought, "This is the kind of person we need to run things."
Three weeks later on Halloween day, Justin, Franklin, and I heard a rumor that the residence of Chancellor Vanderhoef was located covertly behind the International House, just across the street from the MU. Dressed as the demons of the unworldly, we went to greet him in the traditional fashion, knocking on his door, waiting for him or maybe a butler to emerge. But no one answered the door. That night, we left without seeing the Chancellor.
Unfortunately, I still havent seen him personally, not at his office, nor the Coho, nor the raquetball courts. But I will see him on graduation day. With an aloof smile, he will warmly extend his hand, we will shake, and I will say, "Larry, why do you have to be such a buster."
1 comment:
the Hoef is a cool guy, he's the speaker at graduations for classes too lame to have someone famous...like liberal arts. I remember what he said was pretty neat, something about how he sucked at school and did whatever he wanted.
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