A newsletter for alumni, students, parents and friends.
Memories of the 25th Anniversary
By TZ Chu, Ridge House 1954-58
In 1958, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the USCA, Chancellor Clark Kerr held a special University celebration in recognition of the Cooperative’s achievements and Hal Norton’s sustaining leadership. Chancellor Kerr invited Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt to be the guest of honor and keynote speaker. By chance, I was serving as the president of USCA that year and was included on the program with Hal Norton, Chancellor Kerr, and the First Lady.
An audience of thousands gathered in the Hearst Gymnasium. Mrs. Roosevelt was en route home after an extensive tour of the Soviet Union and shared her thoughtful observations and experiences with us. Hal Norton gave a detailed history of the USCA and Chancellor Kerr was lavish in his praise for the role the co-ops played in enabling students of lesser economic means to attend Berkeley. Having arrived in Berkeley after graduating from an American missionary school in India with a graduating class of 30, it was an overwhelming experience for me to have a part on the program. I had been firmly told to limit my speech to two minutes and I still managed to fumble it despite hours of practice!
The meeting was preceded by a dinner attended by many distinguished members of the University faculty. I was seated next to Mrs. Roosevelt and I remember to this day her enormous graciousness and generosity of spirit. She could tell that I was thoroughly intimidated by the occasion and put me at ease by asking about my background and telling me stories of the Roosevelt family’s early trading ventures with China.
The USCA was quite a bit smaller than it is today, consisting of Oxford Hall and the incorporated Central Kitchen, Barrington Hall, Cloyne Court, Sherman Hall, Stebbins Hall, Hoyt Hall, Ridge House, and the adjacent Central Office. When I first arrived at Ridge House, a resident welcomed me and asked me my name so that he might take me around and introduce me. When I told him my full name, Tao-Zeun Chu, he said that he couldn’t handle that and instead introduced me to everyone as TZ Chu, and the name stuck ever since. I began my work assignment as a Central Kitchen pot washer, later progressing on to Workshift Manager, House Manager and eventually President of the Co-op Board of Directors. Ridge House had about 120 members of which around two thirds were boarders. Most of the boarders were graduate students and they offered an incredible benefit to us undergraduates as one could always find a willing tutor among them for practically any subject. I learned about American culture, society, politics, art, economics, the opposite gender, and other enriching subjects during many hours spent chatting in front of the large and never-empty coffee pots in the kitchen.
Although he was the founder of USCA and its guiding leader, Hal Norton took great pains to make sure that USCA members assumed responsibilities for the management and governance of the association. I do not recall encountering any financial or organizational crisis throughout the five years when I was a member of USCA. Many of the members were veterans of the Korean War and took their GI Bill supported education opportunity very seriously. Indeed, I remember that there was relatively little interest among Berkeley students for fraternities and sororities and several of them were on the brink of being shut down for the lack of sufficient members.
Unlike fraternities and sororities of that era, the USCA membership was highly diverse in race, national origin, age, and prior experience. My own experiences with the USCA’s open, diverse membership and its culture of self-help and self-administration were critical in helping me succeed in the business world.
TZ Chu graduated Berkeley in 1958 with a degree in Chemistry and went on to spend a devoted career in the analytical instruments industry. In 1972, he became one of the first Asian CEOs of a public company in the U.S.. Aside from managing companies and serving on the boards of private and public companies, TZ has served as a board member or trustee for a number of non-profit organizations in the U.S. and abroad., including twelve years as a Trustee of the UC Berkeley Foundation. TZ’ sisters, Li-chun Chu Wu and Li-chiang Chu, also attended Berkeley and lived in Stebbins and Sherman, respectively.