By Donna Hemmila

UC President-designate Mark Yudof has been a national advocate for higher education diversity and affordability – a role he intends to import to California.

Yudof, whom Regents appointed 19th UC president on March 27, will take over as head of UC on June 16. He will succeed Robert Dynes, who announced in August that he would be stepping down as president this summer to return to teaching.

"It's hard to imagine a more stimulating job than serving as president of what I view as the premier public university system in the world," Yudof said after Regents announced his appointment. "I'm really looking forward to the challenge."

Yudof has served as chancellor at the University of Texas since 2002. Before that he was president of the University of Minnesota and was a longtime dean, provost and faculty member at the University of Texas at Austin. In addition to serving as UC president, he will hold a faculty appointment in the School of Law at UC Berkeley, where he once was a visiting professor.

During a press conference following the announcement of his appointment, Yudof said he would not lay out an agenda but shared two of his initial goals: maintaining academic excellence and continuing the restructuring of the Office of the President.

"The role of a system office is to facilitate what the campuses are trying to accomplish and to add value," he said. "If you can't add value, get out of the way."

Yudof described himself as pro-affirmative action and said he wouldn't have voted for California's 1996 Proposition 209 ballot measure, which prohibits using race, gender or ethnicity in determining college admissions or hiring.

"I'm a big believer in social and economic mobility and no permanent underclass," he said. "I believe affirmative action is  not the only tool, but a tool to get there."

Yudof voiced concern over the rising cost of public higher education and the national dwindling of state support for these institutions.

"If I had my way, the closer tuition is to zero, the happier I am," he said. "I don't want a person to be precluded from coming to the University of California because they can't afford it."

Yudof said he would work as hard as he can to increase state support. In Texas, Yudof is praised for his administrative expertise and his ability to work with the state legislature.

"Candidates Obama, Clinton and McCain should be glad he only wants to be president of the University of California," said Regents' Chairman Richard Blum in introducing Yudof to reporters at the March 27 press conference.

Blum said he couldn't think of a better person to lead the UC system though its day-to-day challenges and to provide a long-term vision for its future.

To read more about Mark Yudof and view video of highlights from his press conference, visit www.universityofcalifornia.edu/newpresident2008

Donna Hemmila is editor of Our University.