Grey, 68, will assume on an interim basis the responsibilities of Wyatt R. Hume, who announced in June his departure from the university by September and will become provost of United Arab Emirates University. A search is under way for a permanent provost, who will be the chief academic officer of the university and will serve as the No. 2 systemwide administrator to President Yudof.
Yudof made the interim appointment in accordance with UC policy and after consulting with several UC regents, including Richard C. Blum, board chairman, and Bruce D. Varner, the current chair of the regents' compensation committee.
"Bob Grey is an accomplished academic leader and administrator, and he knows UC extremely well," said Yudof. "I am very pleased, and appreciative, that he has agreed to lend his expertise to us during this transition period."
"I am very honored to serve UC in this capacity," said Grey. "The University of California is a remarkable institution, and I am committed to maintaining its standards of excellence and its prominence as a world leader."
A member of the UC Davis faculty since 1967, Grey served as dean of UC Davis' Division of Biological Sciences from 1985 until tapped as interim provost and executive vice chancellor in 1993; he was appointed permanently to that post at UC Davis in 1995 and served in it until 2001. Most recently, Grey served as acting chancellor of UC Riverside from June 2007 until July 2008, bridging the administrations of France Cordova and current Chancellor Timothy White. He had previously served as executive assistant to the chancellor for health affairs at UC Riverside, in which capacity he has served as a consultant to the campus in planning its School of Medicine.
Grey graduated from Phillips University in Oklahoma and received his doctoral degree from Washington University in St. Louis, where he taught and conducted research before joining the UC Davis faculty.
He is the recipient of numerous awards and has consulted with many universities on academic and administrative issues. Among his honors are the Distinguished Teaching Award of the Davis Division of the Academic Senate, the Magnar Ronning Award for Teaching Excellence and a distinguished alumnus award from Phillips University. He is a member of numerous professional societies and has also been a reviewer and editorial consultant for several professional journals and has published extensively in his research area, biology of fertilization and cell biology.
An advisory committee chaired by Yudof has been formed to assist in the selection of a permanent provost. In addition to Yudof, members of the committee are Katie Lapp, executive vice president, UC business operations; Mary Croughan, vice chair, UC Academic Senate; Gene Block, chancellor, UCLA; Christopher Edley, dean, UC Berkeley Law School; and Gene Lucas, executive vice chancellor, UC Santa Barbara.
As interim provost, Grey will receive the following compensation and benefits: An annual base salary of $350,000; per policy, standard sick leave and vacation accrual; per policy, administrative funds for official entertainment and other purposes permitted by university policy; per policy, continued medical and dental coverage as a UC retiree. As an exception to policy, he will receive reimbursement for reasonable and actual expenses associated with housing and meals up to $4,000 per month for the duration of this appointment, since Mr. Grey's primary residence is in Davis and he will be required to be in Oakland four days per week (transportation costs between his home in Davis and the Oakland office will not be reimbursed). As an exception allowed under the guidelines for rehired retirees, Mr. Grey's retirement pension benefits will continue, as he has elected. Under UC policy, this will result in no accrual of additional pension service credit during his appointment as interim provost.
Note: A downloadable photo of Grey is available at www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/2007/greyphoto.jpg