Roy Pasini mikepasini.com
Pops was a big man for a guy who was just 5'9". He got his start in publishing as a paperboy for the Oakland Tribune, selling game-day specials outside Memorial Stadium in Berkeley. And at the end of it, he was the publisher of the most respected weekly newsmagazine in the insurance industry. Today his legacy lives on in the Roy and Barbara Pasini Fellowship established in his and my mother's honor by the very industry he covered for 50 years.
Roy & Barbara Pasini Fellowship
Established in 1991 in honor of Roy and Barbara Pasini's contribution to business journalism in publishing Underwriters' Report, an insurance trade publication, this fellowship has more than doubled in size since it was established.
The Fellowship was announced at a dinner honoring Roy and Barbara at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco on March 8, 1991. Testimonials were given by James Pollard, Pollard & Cossa Insurance; Roxani Gillespie, former California Insurance Commissioner; james Webster, Aon Reinsurance Ageny; Alan Tebb, California Workers Compensation Institute; and Chuck Marriage Chuck Marriage Co.
The presentation itself was made by Dick Griebel of Transamerica and Dean Tom Goldstein of the UC Graduate School of Journalism.
Barbara and Roy. Fun and games, as Roy used to put it.
The Fellowship supports study in the field of journalism for students enrolled in the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, who demonstrate financial need as well as academic ability. The Fellowship is open to men and women regardless of race, creed or national origin.
Candidates are identified, screened and selected by the Graduate School of Journalism. The amount of the awards is flexible, dependent upon available funds each year.
Typical fellowship awards are $5,000 to $8,000 each year, split among one to four students for the second year of their study. In 2010, three students were awarded the Pasini Fellowship after four students received it in both 2009 and 2008.
As of December 2023, the Fellowship continues to welcome contributions, especially in memory of Barbara who passed away on Dec. 20 at the age of 96.
Your contribution to The Roy and Barbara Pasini Fellowship should be made out to UC Berkeley Foundation. Note on the check that it is a gift to the Roy and Barbara Pasini Fellowship/Fund Account FW7481000 so the funds are assigned to the fellowship. Mail it to:
University of California, Berkeley
Gift Services
1995 University Avenue, Suite 400
Berkeley, CA 94704-1070
UC is updating its endowment form for the Fellowship. When we get the new URL, we'll post a link to it here.
Thank you.
Editorials
NB: The editorials were part of a larger site and the links in them, consequently, do not function here.
1 9 9 9
A Genuine Person • Sept. 20
1 9 9 8
1998 -- Another Mixed Bag • Dec. 31
In the Spirit • Dec. 17
Convoluted Rating System • Dec. 10
Watching the Store • Dec. 3
A Real Turkey • Nov. 26
Virtual Certainty • Nov. 19
A Big Zero • Nov. 12
A Plus for WCIRB • Nov. 5
Good Hands • Oct. 29
Market Predictions • Oct. 22
Election Eve Bonanza • Oct. 15
Not Too Common (Sense) • Oct. 8
Pitching Producers • Oct. 1
Misplaced Priorities, Finances • Sept. 24
Tilt -- Senate Version of HR 10 • Sept. 17
First Half Numbers • Sept. 10
Back to School Time • Sept. 3
Double Blockbusters • August 27
Marketshare • August 20
Increase in Hazard • August 13
Refreshing Responsibility • August 6
Real Consumer Protection • July 30
Realizing a Vision • July 23
The 'New' IBA West Format • July 16
CDI, Where Are You? • July 9
Will It Ever End? • July 2
The Name of the Game • June 25
CEA Makes a Sound Move • June 18
100.2 Combined • June 11
Interesting Race in Making • June 4
Go Figure • May 28
Managing Care • May 21
Virtual Virus • May 14
Campaigning in Earnest • May 7
Responsive • April 30
Cats Are Growling • April 23
A Family Affair • April 16
Mind-Boggling • April 9
Business Is Good • April 2
Showtime • March 26
License to Sell • March 19
Find the Bunny • March 12
Workers' Comp 'Bloodbath' • March 5
Shaky Quake Rates • Feb. 26
Comp and Auto • Feb. 19
Commissioner Candidates • Feb. 12
Ten Years Later • Feb. 5
Time for Action • Jan. 29
Pattern for Survival &
David Arrillaga • Jan. 22
The Uninsured Motorist • Jan. 15
Another Lacking Initiative • Jan. 8
1997 -- Put It to Rest; Hope for Best • Jan. 1
1 9 9 7
Let 1997 Rest in Peace • Dec. 18
The Rulemakers • Dec. 11
NAIC's Full Plate • Dec. 4
Resilience • Nov. 27
Paving the Way • Nov. 20
Pandora's Box • Nov. 13
Loud and Clear • Nov. 6
Where the Risks Are • Oct. 30
A Sad Development • Oct. 23
'Seriously Pondering' • Oct. 16
A Learning Process • Oct. 9
Another Web Is Spun • Oct. 2
'Meeting of the Minds?' • Sept. 25
Congratulations, Bud &
... Things Change • Sept. 18
A Good Number: 100.8 • Sept. 11
'$2 Million Man' • Sept. 4
1 9 9 7 (continued)
No Quick Closure • August 28
SCIF -- An Institution • August 21
Expert Testimony • August 14
Recapture the Spirit • August 7
Shaking UP CEA Rates • July 31
New Day Dawning? • July 24
Still Ugly Power Play • July 17
Can of Worms • July 10
Auto Dealers Dealing • July 3
Auto Insurance Dilemma • June 26
Free Market Concept? • June 19
'Who Am I?' • June 12
It's Been Ugly • June 5
'Hazardous Condition' &
Prudential Ads • May 29
Keep Your Head Up • May 22
Naismith & O'Connor • May 15
'Dumpies' • May 8
Banks and Insurance • May 1
No Slam Dunk • April 24
The UM Dilemma • April 17
Will of the People &
Bill Harvey Honored • April 10
One Big Umbrella • April 3
Gimme a Break • March 27
Oversight of CDI • March 20
Auto Rate 'Control' • March 13
Three-Ring Circus • March 6
The Here and Now • Feb. 27
More to Come • Feb. 20
The Aftermath • Feb. 13
Ugly Power Play • Feb. 6
Three Biggies • Jan. 30
Need a Jump-Start • Jan. 23
Hope Bud Is Right • Jan. 16
Promises, Promises &
Roosevelt Carrie • Jan. 9
Glass Is Still Only Half Full • Jan. 2
1 9 9 6
Heinz Pulverman • Dec. 19
CEA Needs Good PR • Dec. 12
Meeting of the Minds • Dec. 5
One Never Knows &
Golden Eagle/CDI &
Heinz Pulverman • Nov. 21
Functional Regulation • Nov. 14
Keeping Score • Nov. 7
Sound Bite Time &
Bill Niedecker • Oct. 24
'The Future' • Oct. 17
Precedent-Setting &
Marybelle Dupuis • Oct. 10
'Not Enough Will' • Oct. 3
Wild West Days &
Cyberspace • Sept. 26
Hard Ball • Sept. 12
Few Miracles • Sept. 5
Down to the Wire • August 29
CDI, IBA West on a Roll • August 22
Full Disclosure • August 15
In the Streets • August 8
Battle at Ballot Box &
Bill Story • July 25
CDI Budget Shortfall • July 18
Goes With Territory • July 11
The Gates Are Open • July 4
A Fresh Look • June 27
Politics, Politics • June 20
IRS 'Flip Flopping' &
Chuck Marriage • June 13
No Turnaround • May 30
1 9 9 5
Whose Fault? • June 29
Photos
We'll start with a few images taken to show off Underwriters' Report for a trade show in the early 1950s. Roy can be seen at the back of the editorial room on the phone in the last photo.
Here are just a few shots of Roy during his career:
In 1998, the last year of publication, things looked a bit different from the 1950s. These captures were made with the first generation of digital cameras on loan for review at the publication.
Biography
Born August 1, 1927 in Albany, Calif., Roy Pasini was proud to call himself a native of the Bay Area. He attended Albany High School where he was elected vice president with the campaign slogan, "If you like zucchini, vote for Pasini." After a two-year stint in the Marine Corps at the end of World War II, he attended City College in San Francisco, where he was editor-in-chief of the Guardsman and published his story The Third Strike. He subsequently graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in journalism in 1951.
Roy began his career in journalism in 1951 on the graveyard shift with the San Francisco Examiner, promising callers (for a while) their item would appear in Herb Caen's next column. The following year he moved to Underwriters' Report as an Associate Editor, the beginning of a long and successful association with the leading insurance trade publication on the West Coast.
He became Editor of Underwriters' Report in 1955. In July 1969, he acquired ownership of the publication following the loss at sea of the publisher Arthur C. Piver, a proponent of the "unsinkable" trimarane sailboat design.
During his tenure as Publisher, Underwriters' Report doubled its circulation and was regarded as the Bible for insurance providers in California. This rare profile in Rough Notes accurately paints his portrait as an industry influencer.
Along with Russell Miller, Roy cofounded the Insurance Council of Northern California for the City of Hope. His association with the City of Hope began in 1975 with the Insurance Council in Southern California. The City of Hope recognized his contribution in 1990 with its Spirit of Life award and in 1998 with its Lifetime award.
Among the numerous awards he received throughout his career were the Ramsden Award of the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of California, the Man of the Year Awards from the Los Angeles Chapter of the Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriters, the American Agents Alliance and the Nevada Independent Insurance Agents. Roy was one of five insurance editors honored nationally by the Insurance Information Institute of New York for meritorious service to the industry. He was a member of the Insurance Advertising Conference, Marines Memorial Club, Commonwealth Club of California and for two terms President of the San Francisco Press Club.
He also served as president of the Our Lady of Mercy and St. Ignatius Fathers Clubs and coached CYO baseball and basketball for many years.
With his wife Barbara, he made his home in Daly City where the couple raised four sons: Michael, Daniel, John and William (who delivered his eulogy).