Young received the school’s highest honor, the UCLA Medal, in 1998 and was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997.
After retiring as UCLA president, he served as president of the University of Florida from 1999 to 2003. Thereafter, from 2004 until 2006 he served as Chairman and CEO of the Qatar Education, Science and Community Development Foundation, a non-profit organization based in the Persian Gulf. He was at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles from 2008 to 2010.
Young and his wife, Judy Young, moved to Sonoma from Thousand Oaks, Calif., in 2012 to be closer to their daughter, Lisa Rendick, and their two children in Marin County.
In addition to Chuck’s many contributions to education, the couple supported other aspects of Sonoma Valley life, including health care.
“Chuck was a strong and vocal community member,” said Sonoma Valley Hospital Foundation Executive Director Dave Pierce. “He had clear ideas for improving education and health care in our Valley and had the leadership to work towards those goals. I will always be grateful for Chuck’s wisdom and thoughtfulness. His approach to me was always considerate and helpful.”
Judy continued, “I admired and respected Chuck. He trusted people and always looked for the good in people. He came from a very poor family and lost his father at an early age. I lost her, but my mother was strong.”
Young was born in Highland, California, on December 30, 1931, and worked in orange groves in his youth. He served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War and later earned a bachelor’s degree with honors in political science from the University of California, Riverside in 1955. He also served as the university’s first student body president.
He went on to earn a master’s degree and a Ph.D. He earned a degree in political science from UCLA. After participating in the program during his doctoral studies, he worked on the California Higher Education Master Plan under Clark Carr, then chancellor of the University of California System.
Young began his career at UCLA by holding a series of executive positions in the administration of Chancellor Franklin D. Murphy. He was Special Advisor to the Prime Minister (1960-62), Assistant Prime Minister (1962-63), and Deputy Prime Minister for Public Administration (1963-68). . He also became a full professor in the Department of Political Science.
After Murphy resigned, he was named his successor by the University of California Board of Regents on June 12, 1968, making him, at age 36, the youngest president of a major university in the United States.
His first wife, Sue, died in 2001. They had two children of her own, Charles Young Jr. and Elizabeth Young Apstein, who died in 2006. He married his second wife Judy in 2002.
“We’ve been very fortunate to be able to come here to the Sonoma community and form the same close friendships that we had in Los Angeles,” Judy said.
Two of their closest friends are Les and Judy Badass of Sonoma. Chuck met Leslie more than 50 years ago when they both served on Intel’s board of directors.
“I appreciate his service on the board,” Les said. “During his time on the board, Intel grew from a start-up to one of the most important companies. Whenever we needed it, Chuck was happy to help.”
Chuck and Les reunited in Sonoma in 2012, and he and his wife had a great time both in Sonoma and as traveling companions.
The young couple also loved visiting wineries and going to wineries with their families. And, unknown to most people, Chuck was a founding member of the somewhat secretive group, the Happy Dawg Debate Society. Until it closed in 2020, meetings were held every Friday at the Happy Dog Restaurant at the intersection of Highway 12 and Verano Avenue in Sonoma.
This group also included Vadash, Joe Aaron, and Stephen Kyle.
“The members discussed the evils in the world,” said Aaron, a venture capitalist who lives in Sonoma. “Ever since Happy Dog closed, every fine-dining restaurant in Sonoma that offers hot dogs on the menu has hosted a Happy Dawg debate. The most underrated hot dog is in Traintown. , Dogley at Freedman’s was Chuck’s favorite.
“Whenever we were solving the world’s problems, whenever Chuck won a debate, he would start singing a song. The song caught the attention of our dining companions, so it was… That would annoy his Happy Dawg Debate Society opponents. If Chuck started singing, he lost.”
Young is survived by his wife, Judy; his son, Chuck Young Jr.; his stepdaughter Lisa Rendick; seven grandchildren; two step-grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.
UCLA plans to hold a memorial service to honor Young’s life and accomplishments in the coming months. In lieu of flowers, his family requests that donations be made to the Sonoma Valley Educational Foundation and the Charles E. Young Research Library, affiliated with his UCLA Foundation.
Contact reporter Dan Johnson at daniel.johnson@sonomanews.com..
