CVK
As we told you in early December, under intense criticism, Ward Connerly has decided to decline any possible re-appoinment to the UC Board of Regents. San Jose Mercury News takes a look back at his legacy: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Also check out similar articles in the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Diego Union Tribune.

“Love him or hate him, he really is the lightning rod for a lot of big issues,” said Jennifer Lilla, a graduate student and president of UC’s student association. Lilla did not always agree with Connerly but said she will “miss his enthusiasm and his energy and his strength of opinions”…

“He’s been a cog in the wheel of a national movement to resegregate higher education and keep communities of color out and I’m glad to see him go,” said Tammeil Gilkerson of the Greenlining Institute in Berkeley, an advocacy group for minorities and the poor.

But even supporters of affirmative action acknowledge that Connerly is a formidable advocate for his side.

“He has been a very intelligent, articulate spokesperson on that side of the street,” said Peter Magrath, president of the Washington-based National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges.