Chancellor Carol Christ announces 2024 retirement, plans for ambitious year

"There is much work left to be done," Christ says in message to campus community

A portrait of Chancellor Christ shows her smiling at the camera weaing a blue jacket. — "What we have been given is a unique set of opportunities arising from the most historic, consequential moment in our lives, and there is no place better than Berkeley to make the most of it," Chancellor Christ told students at the start of fall semester 2020. (UC Berkeley photo by Keegan Houser)

June 15, 2023

Chancellor Carol Christ sent the following message on Thursday:

It is with decidedly mixed feelings that I am writing to let you know I will be stepping down and retiring next summer, at the end of June 2024. My time in office has been meaningful and rewarding beyond compare, and I will sorely miss the challenges, the opportunities, and the daily interactions with the members of Cal’s amazing extended family.

When I’m closer to the end of my tenure, I look forward to sharing with all of you thoughts about my time in office, our university, and the state of higher education. For now, however, there is much work left to be done. In the months ahead I will be focusing on key initiatives and projects, including our Light the Way campaign, the new Gateway academic building, student housing, and strengthening our financial foundations. In support of those and other equally important efforts, I very much look forward to continuing the collaborations with faculty, staff, students, and alumni that make this job so thrilling and enjoyable.

I originally expected to serve as Chancellor for no more than three to five years. What I, or anyone else, never expected was a global pandemic that descended quickly upon the world and had the effect of slowing everything down, including our university’s most important efforts and endeavors. I simply could not imagine parting ways with so much left to do.

The timing of this message is, of course, a function of the time needed to conduct a national search for my successor. (This process is led by the UC Office of the President.) Whoever that may be, I will surely share with them what a wonderful privilege it is to serve and lead this campus, to have an opportunity to further fortify and evolve our incredibly strong and vibrant university, to be a part of a community unlike any other. There is no place I would ever rather be.