Mark G. Yudof was appointed president of the University
of California last week amid heavy
praise from members of the UC Board of Regents who voted unanimously in his
favor.

Yudof was recommended for the position earlier this month by
the regents’ special advisory committee, which was commissioned to find
candidates to replace current President Robert C. Dynes after he announced his
resignation last August.

Board of Regents Chairman Richard Blum, who headed the
search committee, said that Yudof is the best candidate for the job.

“It’s unusual to find a brilliant academic mind who has the
vision for what a university can be and help to grow it, and also has a really
proven management track record,” Blum said at an open-session Board of Regents
meeting. “I don’t believe we could have found one person in the United
States of America or maybe abroad that is
better suited for the job of president of the University
of California than Mark Yudof.”

Yudof, whose starting date has yet to be determined,
currently serves as chancellor of the 15-campus University
of Texas system, a position he has
occupied since 2002. Prior to that, he served as president of the four-campus University
of Minnesota system.

Blum said that Yudof’s previous experience managing
universities similar to those in the UC system enhances his ability to meet the
restructuring and financial challenges now facing the university’s
administration.

“The choice of a new leader is an integral part of our
effort to restructure the administration of the university and make it more
efficient,” Blum said in a statement. “The most important part of that
restructuring is securing a leader to move the effort forward. Mark Yudof
brings a strong commitment to academic values and also a strong record of
performance as a manager.”

Although Yudof has yet to lay out any specific plans for how
he will deal with the challenges of his new position, he said he is
enthusiastic about taking charge and espoused his own philosophy regarding how
a university system should be run at a press conference after the regents’
meeting during which he received approval.

“The role of the system office is to facilitate the campuses
and what they’re trying to accomplish and add value,” Yudof said. “If you can’t
add value you want to get out of the way. The job of the system is to ensure
that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. It’s to facilitate
collaboration, not to erect obstacles, not to be one more hurdle to get over
when you’re waiting to have a great law school or a great medical school or
recruiting a great faculty.”

The regents’ announcement last week that Yudof was a leading
candidate in the selection process, however, raised speculation over whether
the university would be able to afford him. His post at the University
of Texas paid Yudof a total
compensation package valued at nearly $800,000, including a base salary of
$528,860, and made him one of the highest-paid officials in higher education.

Yudof’s position within the UC system will afford him a
total compensation package of $828,000, including a base salary of $591,084.
His total compensation will be nearly twice that of the departing Dynes.

“He’s expensive, but he’s worth it,” Blum said.

Yudof will enter the position of UC president at a time when
a state budget crisis has placed immense financial burden on the university. In
January, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his budget for the 2008-09 fiscal
year, revealing a $409-million shortfall in funding for the university that
signals impending student fee increases and extensive program cuts. Despite
these difficulties, however, Yudof retains an optimistic outlook for his
tenure.

“Universities are always having budget crises,” Yudof said.
“In the long run, this is a very healthy university system with very high
standards. While there might be some reversals in the short run, in the long
term, the university looks very good.”

Yudof added that one of his goals in his new position will
be to increase state contribution to university funding.

Yudof faced similar pressures from state political bodies
during his time in Texas. Early
in his tenure as leader of the UT system, he struggled with the state
legislature over the right to set student tuition, eventually gaining control
over tuition levels and placing a cap on student fee increases. Yudof said he
will take a similar stance in California.

“The closer tuition is to zero the happier I am,” Yudof
said. “I don’t want anyone to be precluded from the UC [system] by high fees.”