By Darlene Donloe
Contributing Writer
WESTWOOD — A celebration of life event for Charles Zachary “C.Z.” Wilson, a former publisher of The Wave and a monumental figure in the history of UCLA, is set for 5 to 7 p.m. April 22 at Royce Hall West on the UCLA campus.
Wilson, who served as vice chancellor at UCLA from 1968 to 1984 before becoming publisher of The Wave, was the first Black vice chancellor in the UC system and was one of the first Blacks to serve in a significant leadership capacity at a non-historically Black college or university in the country. He died last Nov 21 at the age of 95.
Wilson is credited with advancing the cause of diversity at UCLA and paving the way for future generations of leaders within the university and beyond, helping to shape the school’s rise as a local, national and global leader, according to event organizers.
The Charles Z. Wilson Memorial Celebration, organized by the C.Z. Wilson Memorial Committee in conjunction with the UCLA Beloved Community Initiative, will honor Wilson’s contributions and legacy at UCLA.
The UCLA Black Alumni Association will host the ceremony, recognizing Wilson’s pivotal role in shaping university leadership and fostering diversity within the academic environment. During the event, Wilson will be posthumously presented with the C. Bernard Jackson-UCLA Bridge Builders Award.
In March, the Black alumni of UCLA student leaders, colleagues, and associates of Wilson wrote a letter to the UCLA campus and greater Los Angeles communities requesting they acknowledge Wilson’s accomplishments.
The letter read: “As Black alumni of UCLA engaged as stakeholders on campus and in the Los Angeles community, we call on UCLA, the University of California, and the greater Los Angeles community to appropriately acknowledge and celebrate Dr. Wilson’s contributions as a pioneer in Black higher education administrative leadership. As much as any other figure, his life is a symbol of the potential for an education institution to develop a symbiotic, mutually beneficial relationship of growth and prosperity with its surrounding communities.”
“We are celebrating someone who played a prominent role at UCLA,” said Mandla Kayise, president of the UCLA Black Alumni Board of Directors from 2002-2006 and one of the event co-organizers. “We have a full appreciation of his work in legacy and a commitment to those affected by that work.”
Kayise said Wilson’s death is a significant loss to UCLA.
“The loss to UCLA potentially is its mission,” Kayise said. “To the degree that he successfully passed that on to stakeholders. His legacy is — what’s the value of having people in institutions as facilitators — and was he successful with people carrying that mission forward?”
Wilson’s tenure at UCLA was marked by significant efforts to enhance academic programs and foster an inclusive educational environment. As vice chancellor of academic programs, Wilson implemented numerous initiatives to promote diversity and equality within the university.
He was instrumental in establishing the affirmative action program at UCLA, which sought to create equitable opportunities for underrepresented groups in higher education.
Kayise, 65, said the celebration of life event underscores the enduring impact of Wilson’s leadership and legacy.
“Even though he ended his administration 40 years ago, there is almost no evidence of his impact on the UCLA campus anywhere,” said Kayise, whose relationship to Wilson was as a student. “Some people don’t know who he is. That’s unacceptable.
“I want to believe that what C.Z. contributed wasn’t lost. His role and purpose continued way beyond his time there,” he added. “We have to be successful in capturing his legacy. We must continue that legacy because Wilson’s work and value have been under assault since he was there.”
During and after his tenure as a UCLA administrator, Wilson was active in arts and culture, community development, economic development and governance. His contributions in those areas included leading the Joint Center for Community Studies development, co-founding the National Economics Association, serving as the first African American trustee on the board of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and participating on the Los Angeles Charter Reform Commission.
Wilson’s influence extended beyond administrative reforms; he was a mentor and an inspiration to many. His leadership during a transformative era in the 1970s and 1980s is remembered as a significant advancement in addressing racial and social issues within the academic community.
Kayise described Wilson as a “dynamic, innovative individual.”
Oscar Edwards, CEO of High Growth Strategies, is one of the event organizers. Edwards worked for Wilson when he was a graduate student.
“I was there when C.Z. was vice chancellor,” said Edwards, who received his bachelor’s degree in economics and his master’s in business administration from UCLA. “He was very much the educator. He put students in spaces that stretched their capabilities. He was good at coaching you. He had confidence and patience to allow you to come up with solutions.”
Edwards, an All-American defensive back at UCLA, said he also worked for Wilson after he started his consultancy.
“I worked with him because I wanted to be an entrepreneur,” said Edwards, a United States Association for Small Business & Entrepreneurship board member and advisory board chair of the UCLA Beloved Community Initiative. “He had an office on 43rd and Crenshaw. I got exposure to a lot of different things. I got to work with county agencies. It shaped my life. It turned out to be my life. He became my mentor.”
Edwards, 71, said Wilson’s history must be recognized.
“It’s important that we use this moment to recognize that the statement of history is restated today,” said Edwards, a married father of three. “He accomplished so much while he was at UCLA. One of his most significant achievements was the ability to co-create institutions and have ownership and position student leaders as the co-designers of the future. Creating that environment that is sustained and has that kind of activism is his legacy.”
According to Edwards, the memorial will have three levels: family and close friends, UCLA administrators and students.
“There will also be people there who had long relationships with Wilson from the arts community, people from the city, Virgil Roberts, campus folks, and Alfred E. Osborne, UCLA Anderson School of Management senior associate dean for external affairs, and three students who will speak to his history.”
Samone Anderson, 25, a native of Richmond, California, who graduated from UCLA in 2023 with a B.A. in African American studies, is the academic support program project director there and remembers Wilson fondly.
“I remember Mr. Wilson being supportive and caring,” said Anderson, who plans to become a civil rights attorney. “I met him as a freshman. He helped me a lot when I was battling a lot of administrators. He gave me a lot of good advice. We got to know each other. I would call him every once in a while, and we would chop it up.”
Anderson said what she will remember most about Wilson was how “he helped to change things for the better at UCLA.”
“He wasn’t someone who just wanted to collect a check,” she said. “He was transformative. At one time, he was one of the most powerful university administrators in the country. Just look at his record. Look at what he’s done. He helped so many people. I’ll never forget this man and what he did for me and others. C.Z. Wilson was a walking piece of history.”
Born in the Mississippi Delta, Wilson earned his bachelor’s degree and Ph.D. in economics and statistics from the University of Illinois. He also completed post-doctoral training in engineering cconomics at the Illinois Institute of Technology and later trained in family counseling at Cal State Northridge, and management for entrepreneurs at UCLA.
Wilson’s academic career spanned multiple institutions, including DePaul University and State University of New York at Binghamton, where he became the first Black full professor. He joined UCLA in 1968 as a Graduate School of Education professor.
He also served as the president of Czand Associates, a consulting company based in Pacific Palisades.
After authoring the book “Organizational Decision-Making” in 1967, Wilson published an autobiography called “Crossing Learning Boundaries by Choice (Blacks Must Save Themselves)” in 2008 and penned multiple articles for various business journals.
The celebration of life evening also will feature the James C. Williamson Awards presentation to Professor emeritus and former Vice Chancellor of the Graduate Division Claudia Mitchell-Kernan and former Associate Vice Chancellor of Government & Community Relations Keith Parker.
Darlene Donloe is a freelance reporter for Wave Newspapers who covers South Los Angeles. She can be reached at ddonloe@gmail.com.
