One of Wilson Riles' most difficult challenges in his role as an educator occurred in October 1977. As a member of the Board of Regents for the University of California, he voted to consider the results of college entrance examinations in determining university admissions. The vote for new standards passed by a vote of 13-12.
A long-time advocate of high educational standards, Dr. Riles was roundly criticized by some activist groups, who believed examinations discriminated against minority applicants. But Dr. Riles believe that students would not be helped by lowering standards...at any level in the education system. His philosophy, throughout his career, was that students must be better prepared to take such tests; that education must be improved along the entire spectrum, beginning in kindergarten.
It was this view he brought to the private sector as well. Three months before the UC vote on standards -- in July 1977 -- Riles had joined Wells Fargo & Company's board of directors. What had drawn our board's attention to him was that as State Superintendent, Dr. Riles' approach to reforming education and his method of consensus building was done with an eye to the end result of producing better-educated students -- the bottom line, in business parlance.
While his role as a board member was primarily as a fiduciary responsible to Wells Fargo's shareholders, Dr. Riles brought his vision of how a company like Wells Fargo could help improve education in California, especially at the K-12 level.
He understood that the well-being of any business is directly linked to the well-being of the economy and society in which it operates, and that poorly educated children become poorly educated employees and consumers. His view that early intervention in the lower grades reduced the need for later remedial help was one we whole heartedly supported, having seen first-hand the need to provide "brush-up" English and math lessons for newly graduated high school students.
Dr. Riles was on our board from 1977 through 1988. Throughout that time, he increased the company's awareness of key areas in education that needed corporate support.
Parent involvement, teacher professionalism and curriculum improvement were three priorities for Wells Fargo's corporate funding and employee volunteerism. With company grants, we funded programs that helped tie parents more closely to the schools and the teachers. In several communities around the State, for instance, we provided schools with voice mail systems. Some were used as "homework hotlines" so parents could call in to learn what the week's homework assignments were; one was used as a county education information line, providing parents with resources ranging from pre-schools through high schools. Wells Fargo was one of the primary contributors to the Alvarado Elementary School in Long Beach, where the curriculum was completely revamped to involve parents and teachers more extensively.
We supported teacher professionalism by underwriting seminars such as one taught by San Francisco's famed Exploratorium, where math and science teachers could upgrade their knowledge and skills. We also offered Wells Fargo's internal management course, taught by business executives, so teachers and principals could bolster their administrative skills.
Through our participation in programs such as the California Education Initiatives Fund, which sought to improve curriculum, we recognized outstanding programs and projects that schools and teachers initiated that went far beyond the usual educational fare. In partnerships between our varied business divisions and local schools, our employees became active in the classrooms, in work-study programs and as mentors to youngsters who would soon be joining the work force.
Today, Dr. Riles' legacy continues. At the corporate level, we have continually been fine-tuning our vision of the role Wells Fargo can play in ensuring that today's students become tomorrow's educated, productive, and competitive employees and consumers.
As a result, K-12 education is now one of only two primary focuses of our corporate contributions program, and we aim specifically to support programs that improve reading, writing, and arithmetic -- the "3-R's" that have long been the foundation of our education system in this country.
CARL E. REICHARDT was Chairman and CEO of Wells Fargo & Company.