The UC Board of Regents appointed two new chancellors last week at UC San Francisco and UC Davis.
UCSF Chancellor-designate Susan Desmond-Hellmann and UC Davis Chancellor-designate Linda Katehi ‘mdash; both appointed based on UC President Mark G. Yudof’s recommendation ‘mdash; will take their positions Aug. 3 and Aug. 17, respectively, after a year-long search for qualified candidates.
They will replace UCSF’s J. Michael Bishop, who has served as chancellor since 1998, and UC Davis Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef, who has presided since 1994.
‘Both [Desmond-Hellmann and Katehi] are considered trophy chancellors,’ UC Office of the President spokesman Peter King said. ‘They’re a blend of academic leadership and managerial skills, and they’re bona fide scientists.’
Desmond-Hellmann ‘mdash; who ranked 87th on Forbes magazine’s ‘100 Most Powerful Women in the World’ last year ‘mdash; is the first woman to be named UCSF chancellor and will receive a $450,000 annual salary, up from Bishop’s $402,200 salary.
The 51-year-old chancellor-designate earned her medical degree at the University of Nevada, Reno before completing her residency at UCSF. She also served as an assistant professor of hematology and oncology at UCSF for two years.
‘The most important thing to me throughout my entire career ‘hellip; has been to work on things that truly matter for patients, and this new role has the potential to make an even larger impact on patients through all aspects of UCSF’s mission,’ Desmond-Hellmann said in a statement.
She joined Genentech, a leading biotechnology corporation, as a clinical scientist in 1995, and was named executive vice president of development and product operations in 1999. Her annual salary at Genentech was $725,666, not including $1.3 million she earned in bonuses.
‘[Desmond-Hellmann] took a big pay cut to come back to a place that changed her life,’ King said.
UCSF is currently finalizing plans for the construction of a new hospital in Mission Bay to serve children, women and cancer patients.
‘Susan has the credentials to help ensure that the university [is a] major player in reshaping the nation’s health-care environment,’ Yudof said in a statement. ‘And she has the know-how and leadership skills to make sure the Mission Bay hospital is a success.’
UC Davis Chancellor-designate Katehi, 55, is the current provost and vice chancellor of academic affairs at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Prior to joining UIUC, Katehi was the John A. Edwardson dean of engineering at Purdue University, and the associate dean for academic affairs at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
‘She is a brilliant academic with experience at three Big-10 universities,’ Yudof said. ‘She understands the mission and aspirations of a multidisciplinary, land-grant institution ‘hellip; and she comes from the UC family.’
Katehi will earn $400,000 annually as the UC Davis chancellor, a 12.4 percent increase from the current $356,00 she makes at UIUC and an $85,000 increase from her predecessor’s salary.
Katehi earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the National Technical University in Athens, Greece, and received both her master’s degree and doctorate from UCLA’s electrical engineering department.
She has received 16 U.S. patents, and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. Katehi was also selected by former President George W. Bush to chair the National Medal of Science committee.
Both Katehi and Desmond-Hellmann will receive university-provided housing and an $8,916 annual automobile allowance. In addition, Katehi will be given a $100,000 relocation allowance.
Readers can contact Kimberly Cheng at [email protected].