Jack W. Peltason *47

Jack Peltason, constitutional scholar, chancellor emeritus of UCal Irvine, and former president of the University of California system, died Mar. 21, 2015, of Parkinson’s disease. He was 91.

Born in 1923, Peltason earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from the University of Missouri, and in 1947 he earned a Ph.D. in politics from Princeton.

He taught at Smith College and then at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. In 1952, Peltason co-authored Government by the People which, along with his Understanding the Constitution, became a standard political science text with numerous editions.

At Illinois, Peltason was dean of the college of liberal arts and sciences from 1960 to 1964. Then he joined the University of California - Irvine, where, as vice chancellor of academic affairs, he hired the first faculty members and helped shape its academic offerings.

After three years at Irvine, Peltason returned to Illinois and was chancellor there until 1977. Then he became president of the American Council on Education in Washington, D.C.

From 1984 to 1992, Peltason was chancellor of the University of California, Irvine and guided it to distinction and a one-third enrollment increase to nearly 17,000. From 1992 to 1995, he was the president of the University of California system and faced financial and policy strictures from the state legislature and the system’s regents.

Peltason is survived by Suzanne, his wife of 68 years; three children; seven grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.

Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.