Campus & community, Campus news

UC president launches search for next Berkeley chancellor

By Public Affairs

September 29, 2023

The following message was sent to the Berkeley campus community Friday morning.

Please see below for an announcement from the UC Office of the President about the launch of the search process for the next chancellor of UC Berkeley. Your input into the search process is welcome and encouraged. You can share your input via an anonymous form or by emailing the Office of the President or the search firm. Town hall listening sessions for the UC Berkeley campus community will also be scheduled soon. For the latest information about the chancellor search, please visit the chancellor search webpage.

From the UC Office of the President:

UC President Michael V. Drake has announced the formation of a search advisory committee of university faculty, staff, students, alumni and foundation representatives to help in the international search for a new chancellor to lead the Berkeley campus. Regent Richard Leib, the Board of Regents Chair for 2022-2024, appointed five Regents to serve on the committee.

UC Berkeley Chancellor Christ announced in June that she plans to retire at the end of the 2023-24 academic year.

The search advisory committee includes:

  • Michael V. Drake, M.D., UC President (Committee Chair)
  • Richard Leib, Chair, UC Board of Regents
  • Carmen Chu, UC Regent
  • Jose M. Hernandez, UC Regent
  • Lark Park, UC Regent
  • John A. Pérez, UC Regent
  • Mark Robinson, UC Regent
  • James Steintrager, Chair, Systemwide Academic Senate and Professor of English, Comparative Literature and European Languages and Studies, UC Irvine
  • Maximilian Auffhammer, Professor of International Sustainable Development, UC Berkeley
  • Lisa García Bedolla, Professor of Education, UC Berkeley
  • David Schaffer, Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Bioengineering, Molecular and Cell Biology, UC Berkeley
  • Rachel Segalman, Professor of Chemical Engineering, Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Materials, UC Santa Barbara
  • Bettina Duval, Board Chairperson, UC Berkeley Foundation
  • Kirk Tramble, President, Cal Alumni Association
  • Jen Brand, UC Berkeley Staff Assembly representative
  • Sydney Roberts, President, UC Berkeley Associated Students of the University of California
  • McKalee Steen, President, UC Berkeley Graduate Assembly

The search advisory committee will be involved in recruiting, screening and conducting interviews with candidates for the position. The committee’s work will be scheduled so that candidates can be presented to President Drake for consideration and a recommended nominee submitted to the Board of Regents for approval, tentatively by May 2024.

The committee’s first meeting will be held October 10 on the UC Berkeley campus, where members and invited guests will gather in a closed session. The forum will include remarks by President Drake, followed by separate sessions with various campus constituency groups. The president and committee members will also participate in a luncheon with donors, alumni, government and community leaders.

Town hall listening sessions open to the UC Berkeley community will be scheduled soon. The sessions will focus on the needs and interests of UC Berkeley constituencies: alumni, donors, undergraduate students, graduate students, staff and faculty.

In addition to presentations by constituency representatives who will meet with the committee, and the townhall listening sessions, public input is encouraged throughout the search process. Comments may be submitted via email to [email protected] or online survey.

The executive search firm WittKieffer will assist in the process. Submission of nominations and application materials may be sent via email to [email protected].

Information about the UC Berkeley campus: www.berkeley.edu