June 2013
Senate Committee Vets Presidential Candidates
A Senate committee has been meeting weekly to vet candidates for UC President. The Academic Advisory Committee (AAC) also has met twice with the Regents' Special Committee to Consider the Selection of a President, to advise it on the qualities the faculty want in a president and on the qualifications of particular candidates.
The AAC includes the systemwide Senate Chair and Vice Chair, one representative from each campus, and one “at-large” representative. AAC members were nominated by their campus Committee on Committees and come from a broad range of backgrounds and disciplines. They include: Mary Elizabeth Berry (UCB, History), Rachael Goodhue (UCD, Agricultural Economics), Roxane Cohen Silver (UCI, Psychology and Social Behavior, Medicine, and Public Health), Frank Gilliam (UCLA, Public Policy and Political Science), Henry Forman (UCM, Biochemistry and Chemistry), Natasha Raikhel (UCR, Plant and Cell Biology), Katja Lindenberg (UCSD, Chemistry), Sandra Weiss (UCSF, Nursing and Mental Health), Carol Lansing (UCSB, History), Sandra Faber (UCSC, Astronomy and Interim Director, UC Observatories), Joel Dimsdale (UCSD, Psychiatry), Robert Powell (UCD, Chemical Engineering and Material Science and Food Science and Technology) and William Jacob (UCSB, Mathematics).
“The AAC has been intensively engaged in the search for a president and has had productive meetings with the Regents' Special Committee,” says Chair Powell. “The members are participating in the search in a significant way, and their input is being taken very seriously. As a faculty, we are indebted to them for their dedication to this process and for their insights.”
The search is proceeding according to schedule, and it is anticipated that a finalist will be presented for a vote to the Board of Regents in July. In January, President Yudof announced that he plans to retire on August 31 and will join the faculty at the UC Berkeley School of Law. For more information, see: