The pitfalls and perils of congressional replica offices on college campuses

In 2001 — 21 years ago — a replica of the late U.S. Rep. Robert J. Lagomarsino’s (R-Calif.) congressional office opened on the California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI) campus. The university near Camarillo also became the official home for his career archives: boxes of papers, photographs and awards spanning Lagomarsino’s 34 years as an elected Republican politician from Ventura County, Calif. 

Perhaps it’s no surprise that Cal State Channel Islands continues to be the steward of the Robert J. and Norma M. Lagomarsino Archives and Special Collections. Lagomarsino introduced the first bill calling for a public university to open in his district and he later helped to secure $7 million to buy land for the CSUCI campus, which eventually opened at the site of the former Camarillo State Hospital. Notably, he also played a key role in establishing the Channel Islands National Park.

Across Ventura County, however, according to media reports, former U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Calif.) isn’t feeling the love from the university to which he entrusted his archives: California Lutheran University (CLU) in Thousand Oaks. In fact, Gallegly is suing CLU, alleging it failed to fully establish the Elton and Janice Gallegly Center for Public Service and Civic Engagement as promised. Gallegly, a Simi Valley Republican, was a congressman from 1987 through 2013.

The Gallegly/Lagomarsino dichotomy shows the risk that members of Congress face when they donate their career papers and memorabilia to an institution they don’t control. Donating their archives to an academic or other institution for scholarly use can also open up a politician’s career to criticism they may not anticipate. 

CLU established the Elton and Janice Gallegly Center for Public Service and Civic Engagement in 2012-2013 when Chris Kimball was CLU’s president. CLU completed a replica of Gallegly’s Washington D.C. office in the campus library in 2018. Last year, under the new president, Lori Varlotta, the school removed the replica office.

Varlotta told a local newspaper that the school took this action because the office “has not been the driver of activity and engagement at the center as perhaps initially thought.” She said the university had to choose, “which one is most advantageous to our students, our scholars and faculty. We believe that the archives, particularly given their potential as a research tool, will serve the university’s purpose to educate more than the office.”

Those outside of academe may forget that supporting students for success is the main responsibility of a university. At CLU, a vocal contingent of students and library staff protested the Gallegly Center, saying Gallegly did not represent the university’s values. In 2017, students circulated a petition against his center, which stated, “After researching Elton Gallegly, we do not support his legislature and believe it contradicts what Cal Lutheran stands for… This Center serves as a monument to Mr. Gallegly’s service, one in which he targeted the identities shared by many of our students, people of color – particularly Hispanics, the LGBTQ community, and immigrants to this country.”

Gallegly perhaps did not foresee these pitfalls:

• University presidents and governing boards turn over. The university president who championed the center may leave the job or retire; the new president may have different views. The governing board may also appoint new members who don’t think the congressperson’s work is relevant or aligned with the university’s mission and values. 
• Students may protest and refuse to visit the replica office or to engage with the center if they disapprove of the congressperson. No administration wants to be accused of  ethnic insensitivity or ignoring student needs. According to media reports, Gallegly was well-known for his strong anti-immigration views, his support for President Trump’s southern border wall, and for urging the deportation of illegal immigrants. 
• Political winds change. A member of Congress can be popular today but not tomorrow. The political pendulum often swings widely from left to right and back again, especially in today’s era of strong political acrimony. Funding can dry up as benefactors lose interest and contracts can be interpreted in different ways.

It would appear that former Rep. Gallegly’s long congressional career is today being viewed by some through a different lens than a decade ago. For now, the university is in control until a judge decides otherwise.

Ritch K. Eich, former chief of public affairs for Blue Shield of California, has published five books on leadership. A retired captain in the naval reserve, he served on Congressional committees for Sens. Dan Coats of Indiana and Carl Levin of Michigan. Eich’s leadership was cited in the Congressional Record by Coats, also former Director of National Intelligence, and Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana. He holds a Ph.D from the University of Michigan.