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In memoriam: Chester McCorkle
McCorkle, who was born in Gilroy, is known for guiding the rapid expansion of both UC Davis and the University of California system in the 1950s through the 1970s with UC President Charles Hitch and UC Davis Chancellors Emil Mrak and James Meyer.
McCorkle returned from service in the Marines during World War II to complete his bachelor's and master's degrees at UC Berkeley in agricultural economics. His first job out of college was in the crop and livestock loan department at Bank of America, which allowed him to work while earning his Ph.D. at UC Berkeley.
After serving a year in the Marines during the Korean War, McCorkle began his UC career in 1952 as an assistant professor in the new agricultural economics department at the University Farm, which would become UC Davis in 1959. He became vice chancellor as the campus began to grow.
“Those were exciting times to be on this campus,” McCorkle said in a 1998 interview. “We were at about 2,500 or 3,000 students I guess when I came in, and in a very short time we were at 12,500.”
In 1969, he was appointed UC Davis dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. In 1970, McCorkle was appointed senior vice president of the University of California system, second only to the UC president, overseeing the university statewide.
While McCorkle was the dean at UC Davis, “He was instrumental in getting UC involved in the California Agricultural Leadership Program,” said Alex McCalla, UC Davis professor emeritus.
After McCorkle left UC Davis to join UC Office of the President, McCalla succeeded McCorkle as UC Davis dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and followed up on the California Agricultural Leadership Program by joining the Deans Council with his counterparts at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly Pomona and Fresno State to determine which topics would be taught by each campus for the prestigious program, which recently announced its 52nd class.
McCorkle returned to teaching at UC Davis in 1978. He decided his graduate students, many who didn't grow up on farms, needed exposure to California agriculture.
“Chet was instrumental in securing the Liquid Sugars endowment, which funds field study trips for graduate students in agricultural and resource economics to learn more about California agriculture,” said Rachael Goodhue, UC Davis chair and professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, who now oversees the activities.
“Chet was very well connected with the ag industry; he was not interested in publishing erudite articles in academic journals,” said McCalla, who was also McCorkle's neighbor for eight years.
McCorkle took early retirement from UC in 1991, then was appointed by President George H.W. Bush to a commission to review the former Soviet Union's food sector to guide modernization of the new Russian Republic's agricultural economy.
Over his career, he authored three books and more than 100 scientific and technical articles.
In 2008, the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at UC Davis honored him with an Award of Distinction for helping “generations of Californians stay on top of business trends and maintain a competitive edge in the global marketplace.”
In 2019, he authored his final case study for the California Agribusiness Executive Seminar, a short course for agriculture leaders, which he co-founded in 1989 with Bill Henderson of Wells Fargo Bank and directed for 30 years.
Among other accomplishments, McCorkle played the trumpet, keyboard and vibes and led a jazz ensemble in Davis. He performed at Bohemian Grove well into his 90s.
McCorkle is survived by his wife, Sandy, of St. Helena; daughter Sandy of San Jose; sons Ken (Connie) of Aiken, South Carolina, and Tim (Sally) of Franklin, Tennessee; five grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; a stepdaughter and stepson, according to the Davis Enterprise.
