"The Greatest Way"

One day last fortnight Dr. Robert Gordon Sproul, president of University of California, received a telephone call from his friend Mortimer Fleishhacker, a regent of the university and board chairman of the potent Anglo California National Bank of San Francisco. He had heard, said Fleishhacker, that an unnamed bank had offered Dr. Sproul a job. "Will you take the presidency of Anglo California," asked Mr. Fleishhacker, "at $50,000 a year?"

"Give me time to think it over," said Dr. Sproul.

Soon the whole campus and California's press knew that the personable, popular president of the world's biggest university* was seriously considering this offer. The salary tempting him was more than three times what he gets as university president ($13,500 and living expenses).

Complicating his decision was the fact that, as everyone knew, ambitious Dr. Sproul, who became comptroller of the university at 29, its vice president at 34 and its youngest president at 39, nine years ago, had political aspirations, had been mentioned as a possible Republican candidate for Governor or U. S. Senator, even bigger jobs. Would a university presidency be a springier board for a political leap than a bank presidency?

One night last week 5,000 California students gathered on the campus, waved torches and placards, marched behind a band and cheer leaders to President Sproul's square old mansion: "We want Sproul!" they chanted. Soon, with his arms around his wife and his mother, President Sproul appeared on a second-floor balcony.

"This outpouring of student enthusiasm," he began huskily, "touches me deeply. ... You have shown me the way home . . . confirmed my belief that being the president of a university is the greatest way to high service. ... I have decided to stay."

The students cheered for 20 minutes.

* California (which has seven separate campuses scattered throughout the State) leads in the number of full-time students (24,809) but trails New York University if part-time students are counted.

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