University of California Office of the President

Drake photo
Drake curriculum vitae

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, May 26, 2005
UC Irvine contact:
Susan Menning (949) 824-7911
smenning@uci.edu
UC Office of the President contact:
Paul Schwartz (510) 987-9924
paul.schwartz@ucop.edu

UC VICE PRESIDENT NAMED NEW UC IRVINE CHANCELLOR

Michael V. Drake, M.D., longtime University of California faculty member and administrator, and current UC vice president for health affairs, was appointed chancellor of the university’s Irvine campus today (May 26).

Acting on the recommendation of President Robert C. Dynes, the UC Board of Regents appointed Drake the fifth chancellor of UC Irvine at its regularly scheduled meeting in San Francisco.

What Drake is most excited about

Effective July 1, Drake will take the helm from Ralph J. Cicerone, chancellor since July 1998 who has been elected president of the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC.

"UC Irvine is a campus that has risen to great heights in its relatively brief 40-year history, and Dr. Drake brings the perfect credentials and depth of experience to further that momentum," said Dynes. “He is an accomplished academic, a skillful and energetic leader, and one who understands the role that UC Irvine plays as a leading force for educational, social and economic growth in Orange County and beyond.”

Drake, 54, emerged as Dynes’ top choice for the position after a national search that produced approximately 650 prospects. During the search, Dynes solicited advice from a committee representing regents; UCI faculty, students, staff, and alumni; and the UC Irvine Foundation.

“UC Irvine is among America’s top research universities, and I am deeply honored by this appointment,” Drake said. “The campus’s growing reputation for excellence is a testament to the leadership of Chancellor Cicerone and Executive Vice Chancellor Mike Gottfredson, and to the work of the outstanding faculty, staff and students of UCI. I am very eager to begin working with them and the broader UC Irvine community to take on the challenges and many exciting opportunities that lie ahead.”

Drake on excellence
and inclusiveness

Drake began his long-time association with the University of California as a medical student at UC San Francisco Medical Center in 1975. He later joined the UCSF faculty, rising through the ranks to become professor of ophthalmology. In 1991, Drake assumed the post of assistant dean for student affairs at UCSF, later becoming the school’s associate dean for admissions and student programs. From 1998-2000, he served as both the Stephen P. Shearing Professor and vice chair of the department of ophthalmology, and senior associate dean for admissions and extramural academic programs in the UCSF School of Medicine.

In March 2000, Drake was appointed University of California vice president for health affairs in the Office of the President. As systemwide vice president, he oversees education and research activities at UC's 15 health sciences schools (medicine, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, public health, optometry, veterinary medicine), which are distributed among seven campuses. Additionally, the Office of Health Affairs has oversight responsibility for numerous special research programs, including tobacco-related diseases, breast cancer and HIV/AIDS; the California/Mexico Health Initiative; and the newly developed California Health Benefits Review Program.

Under the supervision of the Office of Health Affairs, the University of California is the largest single producer of trained physicians in the United States.

In recognition of his career-long efforts to promote social justice in medical education, in 2004, Drake became the fifth recipient of the Herbert W. Nickens, M.D., Award, one of the highest honors bestowed by the Association of American Medical Colleges.

He has been the recipient of a number of awards for teaching, public service, mentoring and research, including the UCSF School of Medicine's Clinical Teaching Award, the Chancellor's Award for Public Service, The Alumnus of the Year Award, the Speaker’s Gold Headed Cane, and the Martin Luther King Jr. Award.

Drake is a member of several national scientific and scholarly societies. He is the current national president of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society (www.alphaomegaalpha.org/), and serves as a trustee of the Association of Academic Health Centers (www.ahcnet.org/). In 1998, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine (www.iom.edu/).

In addition to his academic achievements, Drake has published numerous articles and co-authored four books. He serves as a reviewer for several medical journals, including the Journal of the National Medical Association, New England Journal of Medicine, Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science and the American Journal of Ophthalmology.

Drake’s extensive public service experience includes the American Medical Association, the National Eye Institute, the American Association of Medical Colleges, the California Health Manpower Commission and the Committee on The Protection of Public Health.

He holds an M.D. from UC San Francisco, and two undergraduate degrees: an A.B. in African and African American studies from Stanford University, and a B.S. in medical sciences from UCSF. He also holds certifications from the National Board of Medical Examiners and the American Board of Ophthalmology.

Born in New York City, Drake spent his childhood in Englewood, NJ, and then later moved to Sacramento, CA, with his family. He and his wife, Brenda, whom he met in college, have two sons, ages 24 and 21. In his spare time, he enjoys cycling, travel, music, track and field, and stargazing.

For more information about the UC office of health affairs, visit www.ucop.edu/healthaffairs

The UC Board of Regents approved an annual salary of $350,000 for Drake, which represents a zero percent increase over his current salary and a 25 percent increase over the position’s current salary of $280,700. The $350,000 salary lags the average salary of UC’s full comparison group of institutions by 21 percent, and its comparison group of private institutions by 61 percent. It also lags UC’s comparison groups of institutions with medical schools by approximately 20 percent. It leads the average salary of UC’s public comparators by 6 percent, and UC’s internal comparator average of $299,900 by just over 14 percent. Drake will also receive a one-time transitional allowance not to exceed $30,000.

Drake recognizes UCI staff

Celebrating 40 years of innovation, the University of California, Irvine is a top-ranked public university dedicated to teaching, scholarship and community service. Founded in 1965, UCI is among the fastest-growing University of California campuses, with more than 24,000 undergraduate and graduate students and about 1,400 faculty members. The second-largest employer in dynamic Orange County, UCI contributes an annual economic impact estimated at $3 billion.

Examples of UCI’s major national rankings and accolades include:

UC Irvine is one of 62 universities in the U.S. and Canada elected to membership in the prestigious Association of American Universities.

Three UCI researchers have won Nobel Prizes during the past decade: F. Sherwood Rowland and Irwin Rose in chemistry, and Frederick Reines in physics.

UCI is among the top U.S. universities – public and private – in the number of undergraduate applications it receives. In fall 2004, the campus admitted the most academically competitive freshman class in its history.

UCI is ranked the 12th best public university in U.S. News & World Report’s 2005 annual rankings. Among both private and public colleges, UCI ranks 43rd.

In a survey by Chemical and Engineering News, UCI tied with three other universities, including Harvard University, for fifth place nationally in conferring doctoral degrees in chemistry (35 doctorates in chemistry during the 2001-02 academic year). UCI finished ahead of UCLA, UC San Diego, California Institute of Technology and Stanford University. Also, UCI awarded 97 bachelor’s degrees in chemistry – good for sixth place nationally.

The Wall Street Journal ranks The Paul Merage School of Business fourth in the nation for information technology education and 34th in the country among regional recruiters.

U.S. News & World Report ranks many UCI graduate programs and specialties among the top 50 in the nation, including the following currently listed among the top 15: literary criticism and theory (2), criminology (4), behavioral neuroscience (5), creative writing (6), health care management (9), organic chemistry (11), drama and theater (12), information systems (11), Third-World literature (12), and cognitive psychology (13).

The Science Citation Index ranks Earth System Science at UCI as one of top four of 100 geoscience university programs in the U.S. for each of the last five years for impact of research

In The Princeton Review’s “Best 345 College Rankings for 2003,” UCI placed 15th in the diverse student population category, which assessed universities on the social and ethnic diversity of their student populations.

Kiplinger Personal Finance ranked UCI No. 34 overall out of 100 in its biannual survey published Oct. 2002. The national business magazine ranks top public universities in the country for affordability and quality of education.

Black Issues in Higher Education ranks UCI fourth in the nation for awarding bachelor’s degrees to minority students in the 2002-03 school year. The rankings are based on data submitted by institutions of higher education to the U.S. Department of Education.

Orange County’s only university hospital and Level I trauma center, UCI Medical Center, is ranked among the nation’s best 50 hospitals by U.S. News & World Report for its specialty care in geriatrics and gynecology. It also was named among the “100 Top Hospitals” by Solucient, a leading source of health care business information.

UCI athletics teams have earned 21 national titles in eight sports. More than 60 individual Anteaters have won national titles; more than 30 have competed in the Olympics.

UCI’s 85,000 graduates include leaders in the arts, sciences, business, education – all walks of life. Among them are three Pulitzer Prize winners and the architect of the “HTTP/1.1” Internet protocol used worldwide.

UCI’s new five-year Program in Medical Education for the Latino Community (PRIME-LC) offers a first-of-its kind curriculum that combines medical school training focused on Latino health issues with postgraduate work in environmental health, science and policy.

The UCI Libraries are the region’s largest information resource, with more than half of their 2 million-plus annual visitors coming from outside the campus community.

For more about UCI, visit www.today.uci.edu.