This study examined relative spending patterns in higher education and corrections in California during the administration of Governor Pete Wilson. Data were obtained from the California Postsecondary Education Commission and the Department of Corrections. It was found that over the last 10 years, spending for higher education decreased as a percent of the general fund from 15 to 13 percent, or approximately $1.2 million; for the same period spending for corrections increased 60 percent. Since 1980 university fees have risen 303 percent in the University of California (UC) system and 485 percent in the California State University (CSU) system; in the same period 21 new prisons were built and prison guard salaries more than doubled. African Americans make up 7 percent of the state's population and 31 percent of state prisoners, but account for only 5.5 percent of students in the UC and CSU systems. Hispanic Americans are also under-represented in California's university systems and over-represented in the state's prisons. The results indicate that under Governor Wilson's tenure, more people of color entered the prison system than entered full-time undergraduate four-year colleges; the Wilson administration also saw the highest levels of prison growth and college tuition increases in the state's history. (Contains 13 references.)(MDM)