The California State University Board of Trustees announced last week that the 23-campus system has selected a new chancellor.  Timothy P. White, currently the chancellor at UC Riverside, will take over for CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed, who announced his retirement in May.

White, originally from Argentina, has been chancellor at UCR since 2008. Previously, he served as the President of the University of Idaho from 2004-08.

In a letter to UC Riverside faculty, staff and students, White said that he and his wife Karen had very much enjoyed their experience in Riverside.

“Your friendship, advice, and encouragement have allowed us to be a special part of this wonderful UCR family and greater Riverside community,” White wrote. “While we will deeply miss working alongside you to achieve our aspirations for this campus, our hearts will remain forever connected to UCR.”

UC President Mark G. Yudof said that while White would be missed, he welcomed the prospect of having a familiar face as his CSU counterpart.

“Chancellor White has provided tremendous service to the University of California and its Riverside campus for the past four years, and he is an excellent choice to lead the California State University system,” Yudof said in an Oct. 4 statement. “While he will be missed, it is no small consolation knowing that, with Chancellor White at the helm of the CSU, the University of California will continue to have a well-placed partner and ally in the fight to preserve public higher education in California.”

UC Riverside joins UC Berkeley in joining the market for a new Chancellor. UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau announced in March that he would be stepping down so that he could return to teaching physics and materials science. UC Berkeley has not yet named a replacement for Birgeneau.

During his tenure, White oversaw the establishment of UCR’s medical school — the sixth in the UC system. CSU’s announcement that White would be taking over at the beginning of 2013 came two days after the Liaison Committee on Medical Education — an accrediting board for medical programs — announced that UC Riverside was tentatively approved to begin recruiting students for a new medical school that will open for the 2013-14 academic year. In 2011, UC Riverside had applied for the LCME’s go-ahead to begin recruiting but was denied accreditation because of uncertainty surrounding the new school’s financial footing.