100
corporations, businesses, and private individuals. He even wanted to include
the University in his schedule. But instead of going to the University of La
Laguna, which was the only one in the archipelago at the time, he summoned
the Governing Council of the University to the headquarters of the Civil
Governor of the Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The universities were in
turmoil during the Transition, and campuses were anything but tranquil. To
inflame the situation further, the chosen venue was a pointed gesture to dot
the i’s and cross the t’s, thus making it quite clear that the University was
dependent on the State and should know its place in the broader scheme of
things. University autonomy was still a distant dream (as explained in
Chap. 9).
The Chancellor of La Laguna (then Professor Bethencourt) had prepared a
careful discourse, praising the most important aspects of our University and
dramatizing its most glaring deficiencies. Every effort needed to be made to
squeeze as much money as possible out of the President in order to shore up
the penurious economy of the University. His discourse then went on to mention the activities of the IAC, underlining the glorious future of astrophysics
in the Canary Islands and the mainland if we could but succeed in signing the
cooperation agreements being negotiated with Europe (as Vice-chancellor of
Research, I had also participated in the drafting of the address).
When the Chancellor came to the requirements of the IAC for securing the
arrival of large European telescopes at Roque de los Muchachos, and particularly to the building of a dorsal road for La Palma, Suárez interrupted him,
saying that he had just come from that island, and that, when he had questioned the mayors specifically on whether they would prefer to spend 100
million pesetas (600,000 euros) on astrophysics or use that money to repair
the poor roads connecting their towns, they had all opted for the latter. That
was when I heard myself saying, ‘Mister President, I am hardly surprised,
given the way in which you put your question, that they gave you the answer
you wanted to hear.’ It was an unconsciously instinctive impulse, and my
egregious faux pas was greeted in general silence. I soldiered on, in an effort to
justify my temerity, and explained with clarity and passion to the President
what had been happening. I stressed the importance of what our whole enterprise meant for Spanish science and technology. I described to him the
advanced stage that had been reached in the international agreements that
would enable Spain to host the most advanced and complete array of European
telescopes. I also mentioned the hurdle of the radars and the American solution to a very similar problem in Hawaii.
When the Chancellor ended his discourse, the President gave his, and at
the close of the meeting, Suárez shook hands with all the members of the
F. Sánchez
corporations, businesses, and private individuals. He even wanted to include
the University in his schedule. But instead of going to the University of La
Laguna, which was the only one in the archipelago at the time, he summoned
the Governing Council of the University to the headquarters of the Civil
Governor of the Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The universities were in
turmoil during the Transition, and campuses were anything but tranquil. To
inflame the situation further, the chosen venue was a pointed gesture to dot
the i’s and cross the t’s, thus making it quite clear that the University was
dependent on the State and should know its place in the broader scheme of
things. University autonomy was still a distant dream (as explained in
Chap. 9).
The Chancellor of La Laguna (then Professor Bethencourt) had prepared a
careful discourse, praising the most important aspects of our University and
dramatizing its most glaring deficiencies. Every effort needed to be made to
squeeze as much money as possible out of the President in order to shore up
the penurious economy of the University. His discourse then went on to mention the activities of the IAC, underlining the glorious future of astrophysics
in the Canary Islands and the mainland if we could but succeed in signing the
cooperation agreements being negotiated with Europe (as Vice-chancellor of
Research, I had also participated in the drafting of the address).
When the Chancellor came to the requirements of the IAC for securing the
arrival of large European telescopes at Roque de los Muchachos, and particularly to the building of a dorsal road for La Palma, Suárez interrupted him,
saying that he had just come from that island, and that, when he had questioned the mayors specifically on whether they would prefer to spend 100
million pesetas (600,000 euros) on astrophysics or use that money to repair
the poor roads connecting their towns, they had all opted for the latter. That
was when I heard myself saying, ‘Mister President, I am hardly surprised,
given the way in which you put your question, that they gave you the answer
you wanted to hear.’ It was an unconsciously instinctive impulse, and my
egregious faux pas was greeted in general silence. I soldiered on, in an effort to
justify my temerity, and explained with clarity and passion to the President
what had been happening. I stressed the importance of what our whole enterprise meant for Spanish science and technology. I described to him the
advanced stage that had been reached in the international agreements that
would enable Spain to host the most advanced and complete array of European
telescopes. I also mentioned the hurdle of the radars and the American solution to a very similar problem in Hawaii.
When the Chancellor ended his discourse, the President gave his, and at
the close of the meeting, Suárez shook hands with all the members of the
F. Sánchez