Dianne Feinstein's husband named in UC admissions scandal, wrote 'inappropriate' letters for years
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s husband finds himself in the middle of the latest University of California admissions scandal, accused in a state audit of improperly using his clout to help an applicant get into the elite public system. But Richard Blum, a UC regent, told The Chronicle he’s done nothing wrong and has been writing letters on behalf of many friends and family for years.
“I did it a bunch of times,” Blum said, adding that he has never considered it a problem to write recommendation letters directly to chancellors and bypassing the traditional admissions process. However, a policy prohibiting such influence has been in place throughout Blum’s 18-year tenure on the Board of Regents.
Blum’s name emerged Thursday after California’s independent auditor released a scathing report showing that UC Berkeley improperly admitted at least 55 underqualified, often wealthy, students based on insider connections over a six-year period.
In one case, a regent unidentified in the audit sent an “inappropriate letter of support” directly to the UC Berkeley chancellor on behalf of a student with only a 26% chance of winning a spot off the wait list, despite the policy prohibiting efforts by regents to influence admissions decisions by going around the regular process. The applicant was admitted.
Read more: https://www.sfchronicle.com/education/article/UC-Regent-Richard-Blum-named-in-admissions-15594754.php
= new reply since forum marked as read
...university with (last time I looked) 9 or 10 campuses across the state, though only a handful are famous.
USC aka University of Southern California is a private institution with afaik one campus, in Los Angeles. It gets government contracts and grants for research and such, but it is and always has been a private university just as Yale and Harvard are. There are rules, however, and for the life of me I’ve never understood why parents with as much money as they gave in bribes didn’t simply do it the old-fashioned way and endow a Chair through the appropriate gifts and donations department. I’m sure USC would have looked kindly on their spawn afterward. But bribing a coach? Please. 
As for UC Regent Blum not knowing policy about writing letters of recommendation directly to chancellors, I kinda sorta tend to believe that, but that was quite the oversight on his part. That’s a very big OOPS, and I have a feeling he will resign from the Board of Regents by Monday at the latest. Sir, that kind of Affirmative Action for Rich White Kids has gone out of fashion at taxpayer-funded colleges. They can start at State or Community college and transfer to University once they prove they can do the work, and their degree will say University.
As for Senator Feinstein, I hope she can weather this storm, which is his storm. We need her in the Senate in the here and now, not fighting for her political life against Repubs demanding a recall — because yes, under the right circumstances, we could end up with a GOP Senator.
I’m finally ready for her to contemplate retirement, though, and if she should choose to leave while Gavin Newsom is Governor, he could appoint a Democratic Congressman or woman to fill her seat. During the Impeachment hearing we all got introduced to some sterling Californians, such as Adam Schiff, Ted Lieu, and Eric Swallwell.
I will be SO GLAD when 2020 is in the rearview mirror.
That goes for you too Dear Dianne. 
