William "Bill" Hauck

Honorary Degrees
 
 

William "Bill" HauckWilliam "Bill" Hauck
CSU Trustee/Businessman

San José State University

When William "Bill" Hauck was a student at San José State University in the 1960s, he realized that students needed a bigger voice in university affairs. In his role as student body president, he approached the university's president, and then the California State University Board of Trustees and soon after, the California State Student Association was born and became the champion of all CSU students. It is a significant aspect of Mr. Hauck's legacy.

Mr. Hauck never lost his "students first" mantra as a long-serving member of the CSU Board of Trustees, first appointed in 1993 by Governor Pete Wilson and reappointed by Governors Gray Davis and Arnold Schwarzenegger. He looked on his service as a way to help students better their lives and future. He made a personal commitment to student success when he endowed the Trustee William Hauck Scholarship, which recognizes a SJSU student for academic performance, personal accomplishment and community service.

He served as chair of the Board of Trustees from 1998-2000; vice chair from 1996-1998; and several years as chair of the board's finance committee. He also chaired or served on presidential search committees for CSU campuses in Sacramento, San José and San Diego, as well as chaired the CSU chancellor's search committee in 2012.

The SJSU alumnus, who received a bachelor of arts degree in 1963, was as active in political and business circles as he was in educational circles. The former president and CEO of the California Business Roundtable, Mr. Hauck was a key strategic adviser to several elected officials, Democrats and Republicans alike, serving in leadership positions for many years in Sacramento. They all admired his integrity, candor and ability to find common ground and solve problems. He served on several blue-ribbon commissions designed to improve California's government.

A civic-minded individual, Mr. Hauck served on several boards, contributing his vast knowledge of financial and public policy matters to those entities. He was a co-founder and former chair of the Campaign for College Opportunity, and joined Goddard/Claussen West as a senior adviser in 2011.

In recognition of his personal contribution and commitment to student success, his years of work to improve state government and his attributes of fairness and integrity, the California State University Board of Trustees and San José State University are proud to posthumously confer on William "Bill" Hauck the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.