American Indians Supported UCR's Founding
 Driving or walking under Highway 60 on University Avenue, it is
hard to miss the colorful image of a handsome couple, standing bigger
than life over woven basketry.
That is not just because the Costos were generous campus donors,
which they were. But it also pays tribute to the lesser-known fact
that hydrologist Rupert Costo, a Cahuilla Indian, partnered with
Judge John Gabbert and a handful of others to convince lawmakers
and UC Regents to place a campus in Riverside.
Jeannette Henry Costo, a former journalist with Cherokee ancestry,
threw her own considerable persuasive skills behind her husband's
cause.
"They both had a passionate interest in championing
the causes of education, and an even greater interest in championing
the causes of Native Americans."
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"I think their role was pivotal, because it represented a
portion of the community that was important," said Jim Erickson,
a former UCR Vice Chancellor and a longtime friend of the Costos.
"They both had a passionate interest in championing the causes
of education, and an even greater interest in championing the
causes
of Native Americans."
Rupert Costo had a lifelong friendship with
Judge Gabbert; their friendship began in 1927 when they were
classmates at what was then Riverside City College. Thus, when
the state legislature
initially rejected the proposal to found a university at Riverside
(three times), the two men sustained each other in their determination
to persist and finally to win. "Rupert recognized early on
what a university at Riverside would mean to Riverside and to his
people. He was one of the most enlightened human beings I had ever
met and appreciated what education could do to remove the barriers
of race and place," said Judge Gabbert.
It was during this
period that Rupert Costo and Jeannette Henry were married.
The couple turned their joint efforts to the goal of helping to
found a campus
at Riverside. Mrs. Costo was then a corporate public relations
officer (at Blue Shield) after serving for many years as a newspaper
reporter. The two had spearheaded the founding of the American
Indian
Historical Society and begun a program of publishing on American
Indian history.
Mrs. Costo handled publicity in the final and successful stages
of the campaign for the UCR campus. The Costos enlisted the support
of Father Phillips, an old friend who was a potent influence in
Sacramento. He actively lobbied on behalf of the Riverside campus,
buttonholing legislators, insisting they vote "for the
people."
So much of the vision and commitment of Rupert and Jeannette has
been central to the emergence of the Riverside campus. Indeed the
entire Costo family has been vital to the very birth of the campus.
Fifteen members of this Native American family turned out to gather
necessary signatures on petitions for the campus, and used their
influence and energies to the development of Riverside as an important
center. It was Rupert Costo's father Ysydro who planted the first
navel orange tree in the area-it remains on the grounds of the
Mission Inn-and thus played a part in the city's citrus heritage.
Not the least of their accomplishments has been the founding of
the Costo
Chair in American Indian History, which inspired the founding of
many additional academic chairs at UCR.
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