UC welcomes new president
UC's new President Mark Yudof reported for duty on June 16, kicking off his administration with a gathering with employees at the university's central administrative offices in Oakland.
"I chose to come to the University of California because it is the premier public university in the world, with 10 vibrant and robust campuses, and it is an institution that has had and will continue to have a profound impact on the lives of the tens of millions who call California home," Yudof said in an e-mail greeting to all UC faculty and staff.
Yudof, former chancellor of the University of Texas, succeeds Robert Dynes, who stepped down as UC president to return to teaching.
From May 1 until his UC start date, Yudof had been serving as a consultant to the interim University of Texas chancellor. During the transition period, he has made frequent trips to California and met with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on April 15.
One of Yudof's first priorities, he said, is to oversee the ongoing restructuring of the university's central administration.
"I really feel I have to get the trains running on time," Yudof said.
Money that will be saved through a downsizing of the Office of the President can be channeled to the 10 UC campuses, he said.
"A system office exists to facilitate the work of the campuses and add value to the campuses - to ensure that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts," Yudof said. "It should facilitate collaboration and cost savings among the campuses, not erect obstacles in their quest for excellence. The University of California already is looking intensively at these issues at the Office of the President, and I intend to continue that restructuring effort as president."
Before becoming UT chancellor in 2002, Yudof was president of the University of Minnesota and a longtime faculty member, dean and provost at the University of Texas at Austin. In addition to serving as president, Yudof will hold a faculty appointment in the School of Law at UC Berkeley, where he has been a visiting professor. Yudof is a nationally recognized leader in higher education and a constitutional law scholar.
Learn more about Mark Yudof at http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/president