Janet Napolitano selected as new UC president
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has been nominated for appointment as the 20th president of the University of California. Regent Sherry Lansing, chair of a 10-member special search committee, announced the selection today (Friday, July 12). The full Board of Regents will act on the recommendation Thursday.
July 12, 2013
The University of California Office of the President today (Friday, July 12) made this announcement:
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has been nominated for appointment as the 20th president of the University of California.
Regent Sherry Lansing, chair of a 10-member special search committee, said Napolitano rose to the top from a large field of candidates and was recommended on a unanimous vote.
Janet Napolitano
The full Board of Regents will act on the recommendation Thursday, July 18, during a special meeting following the board’s regular bimonthly meeting in San Francisco.
“Secretary Napolitano is a distinguished and dedicated public servant who has earned trust at the highest, most critical levels of our country’s government,” Lansing said in a statement. “She has proven herself to be a dynamic, hard-working and transformative leader.
“As governor of Arizona, she was an effective advocate for public education, and a champion for the life-changing opportunities that education provides…Those who know her best say that a passion for education is in her DNA.”
She added: “As Secretary of Homeland Security, she has been an ardent advocate for the federal Dream Act and the architect of a policy that protects from deportation young undocumented immigrants who are pursuing a college education.”
Board Chair Bruce Varner, who served as vice chair of the search committee, noted in a separate statement: “Throughout her noteworthy career, Secretary Napolitano has built a track record for taking on and tackling the toughest of challenges. She has a reputation for seeing things through, no matter how difficult the effort.
“She has the intellectual curiosity, leadership qualities, personal charm and discipline needed to navigate any future challenges that await this university.
“I anticipate learning much from Secretary Napolitano, given her experience leading large, complex organizations.”
Full information about the nomination and about Napolitano can be read on the UCOP website.