Educator Will Be Inaugurated With Alcohol Charges Pending

Plans for the formal inauguration of Barbara S. Uehling as chancellor of UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday are proceeding, although under an aura of embarrassment because of her arrest on drunk-driving charges over the weekend, officials and campus leaders said.

“Inaugurations are supposed to be festive times and we hope that will continue despite these unfortunate events,� said Ronald Kolb, spokesman for the UC system.

In a prepared statement issued Monday, Uehling said she had drunk “a very modest amount of wine� at a dinner party at a Santa Barbara hotel Saturday night and that she believed her driving was not affected by that wine even after she was stopped by California Highway Patrol officers on her way home.

“Obviously, I am very distressed about this matter as I believe I have always exercised care in the use of alcohol. As an educator, I have been a public advocate of safe drinking practices and a strong supporter of alcohol awareness programs. However this matter is resolved, I recognize it is a source of embarrassment to the university and its friends as it is to me and my family. And for that, I am deeply regretful,� Uehling’s statement said.

CHP officers noticed that only parking lights, not the headlights, on Uehling’s car were turned on and the car was weaving, according to Capt. Mike Porrazzo, the CHP area commander. She failed a sobriety test for walking and speech and at county jail a Breathalyzer examination showed her blood alcohol content to be, first, .10% and then, in a routine recheck a few minutes later, .09%, according to Porrazzo. A reading of .10% is proof of guilt under California law and levels between .05% and .09% may be illegal if other evidence corroborates drunk driving.

Uehling, 55, became UC Santa Barbara chancellor in June, 1987, moving from a similar post at the University of Missouri, Columbia.

She replaced Robert A. Huttenback, who resigned last year after a UC audit charged he had misused $174,087 in university funds for improvements to his private home. Huttenback and his wife are on trial in Santa Maria on charges of embezzlement, insurance fraud and tax evasion; jury selection began last week.