Hume will serve as the chief operating officer and chief academic officer for the 15,000-student research university in Al-Ain, located in the Abu Dhabi Emirate of the United Arab Emirates. The institution, established in 1976, is the premier national university.
"The opportunity to contribute to the further advancement of what is a very progressive and energetic university in one of the world's most dynamic regions is extremely attractive to me and my family," said Hume. "I look forward to adding to the strengths of the university and the nation in research, teaching and service. It has been a pleasure for me to find such a clear vision and firm determination on the part of the university's leadership to realize goals with which I am familiar at UC, in what is a quite different culture and society."
The minister of higher education and scientific research and chancellor of United Arab Emirates University, Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, called Hume "extremely well suited to serve as provost at the UAE University, given his wealth of experience as an educational leader and scholar at one of the world's leading higher educational institutions."
Hume, 63, was born and educated in Adelaide, Australia, and came to the United States in 1975 as a postdoctoral research fellow in the UCLA School of Medicine. In addition to professorial positions at UCLA and UC San Francisco, he has held a range of administrative positions in Australia and the United States, including executive vice chancellor of UCLA from 1998 to 2002 and president of the University of New South Wales, in Australia, from 2002 to 2004.
In 2005 Hume came to the UC system administration as vice president for academic and health affairs. He was named provost and executive vice president for academic and health affairs in June 2006. In August 2007 he was asked to serve as chief operating officer for a transitional period following the announcement of former President Robert C. Dynes' resignation.
Hume said he and his wife, Jenny, will continue to maintain a family home in the San Francisco Bay Area in addition to taking up his new residence in Al-Ain.
The June press release announcing Hume's resignation as UC provost is available at www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/18017. The press release issued today by UAEU is available at http://www.uaeu.ac.ae/news/20080813_wr_hume_uaeu_provost.shtml.