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A Conversation with Bill Villa
by Pete Villarreal
 I recently had the opportunity to talk with Bill Villa over lunch
at the University Center. I was hoping to find out how Bill—whose long and distinguished
career at UCSB ranged from graduate student and administrator to staff member emeritus—was
faring with retirement and with the acknowledgements that come later in life (like
having the departmental Bill Villa Service to Students Award named in his honor.)
If you’re an alum from anytime between the late 1960s and the year 2000, you probably
crossed paths with Bill, either in the EOP office (where he served early on as Associate
Director) or by virtue of him signing your admission letter (during his tenure as
Director of Admissions during some particularly tough times, including the passage
of Proposition 209). My conversation with Bill was a time for him to reflect on
his experiences at UCSB. Knowing Bill for over 25 years, I knew his story would
be a heartfelt journey of love. I’m pleased to share it with you. And I look forward
to sharing many more of our alums’ stories about where they’ve been and what they’ve
done since—and because of—their time spent at UCSB in EOP.
The first question I asked Bill was how he felt about his retirement. Although he
missed the structure normally brought on by work, he was enjoying his “free” time
at home with his wife, Julie. The only structure he presently has in his life is
provided through his playing the game of golf, which he enjoys doing three times
a week. He has already taken the opportunity to travel to many places and has been
active in the Santa Barbara community. My own thoughts diverted to hoping that time
would fly so that I too could enjoy the virtues of traveling or swatting that little
white ball anytime I wanted. However, I noted in Bill’s tone that he wasn’t fully
satisfied with his newfound freedom, even though he did get his golf score down
to 79! Bill shared that to this day he sometimes misses the routine of spending
long hours daily, including weekends, in his office at Admissions, planning and
contemplating what he needed to do to improve opportunities for the virtually thousands
of potential UCSB applicants and admits. I recall that Bill was often spewing out
admissions figures to anyone who struck up a conversation with him. His mind was
constantly focused on his job. His annual goal was to increase the numbers of students
admitted to UCSB and to diversify the student population. It was obvious that he
misses the challenges.
Bill’s conversation suddenly turned to the numbers of students of color who were
present in the mid-’60s. “These numbers were very low in those early days,” he shared.
Not until 1966, did EOP exist in the University of California system, with first
the program developing at the Berkeley campus. In the spring of 1967, UCSB’s Dean
of Students developed the campus’s EOP unit.
 I asked
Bill how he acquired his job in EOP. Without getting into too much detail, Bill
explained that he was a young and married student looking for work to support his
family. After five years of successful work in a bank, he was interested in returning
to school to get a teaching credential to be of service in teaching. He was working
as a substitute teacher in Ventura and looking for a budget analyst job when he
was informed about a position in the EOP office. Lucky for the campus, that analyst
job didn’t materialize, for he was hired as an EOP counselor. Bill was then asked
to help lead EOP, under the direction of two Assistants to the Chancellor for Minority
Affairs. In his tenure, Bill contributed to the rapid development of EOP services
by gaining the trust and respect of the administration, faculty and students at
UCSB and at other campuses. As turbulent and challenging as the 70s were, with the
Civil Rights Movement going on and civil unrest occurring throughout the nation,
Bill was able to lead EOP to gradual, yet very productive, growth for nine years.
His successes in EOP contributed to his getting appointed as Director of Admissions
in August 1977.
Bill served as Director of Admissions for 23 years. He experienced the changing
periods of both affirmative action and the implementation of Proposition 209. He
led the campus move to diversify its undergraduate student population, while meeting
state and federal guidelines. Not an easy task. My own accounts of Bill’s accomplishments
in Admissions are fairly clear. For years, Bill helped pave the way for all students,
including those from low income and first generation families. Bill was dedicated,
creative, patient, diligent, flexible, fair and a true professional. I credit his
leadership to helping UCSB achieve its outreach and admissions goals, and attribute
much of our campus’s diversity successes to his leadership.
Bill retired in June 2000 and was asked by the Chancellor to return as Director
for seven additional months until his replacement could be selected. He worked for
six more months as a Special Assistant to the Chancellor.
 In recognition of his contributions to the campus and its students,
an award was named for Bill. The Bill Villa Award is given annually to departments
that display, “Unparalleled devotion to students and extraordinary and unselfish
team service to the university, its students and the university.” (Incidentally,
EOP received the Award named after Bill for the year 2003-2004, primarily for the
EOP’s role in the Admission’s Comprehensive Review process. Through Bill’s leadership
and values of diversifying UCSB, EOP and Admissions have worked collaboratively
during Bill’s tenure as Director and continue to do so beyond his retirement). When
I asked him how he felt about being the legacy of the student services award, he
explained that he initially felt uncomfortable. He displayed his humility when he
added that the award was intimidating to him, because it singled him out. He felt
he did not merit such high recognition. Bill stated that he felt his accomplishments
were shared ones and attributed his successes to a staff that shared his same values
and ideals. His goals were always to run efficient and effective programs (EOP &
Admissions) that provide high-quality service to students. I’m sure that many who
worked for Bill would agree that his management style was one of being a dedicated
and empathetic manager who was able to bring out the most in people. “I tried hard
not to appear threatening to anyone,” Bill said.
Bill ultimately feels very grateful to UCSB for providing him with the opportunity
to provide access to higher education for the youth of California. Bill continues
to serve as a role model for many of the managers at UCSB and he left a legacy of
successes in two very important campus departments (EOP & Admissions). Bill has
set the standard very high for other managers and will certainly prove a hard act
to follow. We are fortunate to still have him available to us whenever we need some
guidance or inspiration. We thank him for his contributions to the students we work
with throughout the years. I wish him good luck in his retirement and his golf game.
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