Preliminary interviews under way for next UC Davis chancellor

February 23, 2009

To the UC Davis Campus Community:

The 18-member Advisory Committee for the Selection of the Chancellor at UC Davis has been continuing its active efforts for the search process of our next Chancellor since the all-day meeting here on the campus on Oct. 23. With President Yudof’s concurrence, the following statement is being posted on the UC Davis Chancellor’s Search Web site to provide information for the campus community regarding the search activities of the past four months and the projected timeline for the weeks ahead.

Pursuant to the longstanding policy of the Board of Regents first adopted in 1981, the five members of the faculty on the Advisory Committee form a special subcommittee that is responsible for initially reviewing potential candidates for the position of Chancellor. With the assistance of the search firm retained by the Office of the President, our subcommittee has screened close to 600 nominees, applicants and candidates for the position. Of these, 154 were contacted and invited to be considered for the position, with 41 agreeing to be considered. The subcommittee screened the list and reduced the number to 21 qualified candidates for consideration by the full advisory committee at three very lengthy meetings.

We are currently doing preliminary interviews of the top candidates. In contrast to some campus rumors, we can state unequivocally, with President Yudof’s complete agreement, that there neither have been nor currently are any pre-identified finalists for the position of Chancellor.

Our job has been made more challenging by the high level of talent across the pool of individuals interested in leading our campus. From our discussions with these accomplished leaders in higher education, we have repeatedly heard that our campus enjoys a strong national reputation across many disciplines in the sciences, humanities, arts, and social sciences. We are clearly viewed as not only being a strong land grant institution but also as "living the land grant mission" and extending this mission well beyond the traditional agricultural meanings of this phrase.

The comprehensive meetings of the full Advisory Committee have been held in President Yudof’s office in Oakland to review the work of our subcommittee. A group of approximately six candidates has now been selected by the Advisory Committee to receive invitations for interviews with the entire Advisory Committee over a two-day period. These interviews are currently expected to occur during the first two weeks of March and be conducted at a location near the Office of the President in Oakland.

Upon the conclusion of these interviews, each member of the full Advisory Committee will submit to President Yudof her/his evaluation of the interviewed candidates. To supplement the committee members’ evaluations, the President will then conduct further evaluations on his own and, after consultation with the leadership of the Board of Regents, then decide upon the candidate with whom he wishes to enter into detailed discussions about becoming the next leader of our campus.

Upon the conclusion of President Yudof’s discussions with the candidate who he believes is best suited to be the next Chancellor of UC Davis, the President will submit his decision to the Board of Regents. The next two regularly-scheduled meetings of the Board of Regents are March 17-19 (at UC Riverside) and May 5-7 (at UC San Diego). It is not possible at this time to know exactly when President Yudof will have completed his selection process and ask the Board of Regents to consider the President’s decision. As indicated above, several steps remain. A special meeting of the Board could also be called during early-to-mid April. Following the Board of Regents’ action on the appointment, the new Chancellor will then be introduced to the UC Davis community at a special event that will be coordinated with the Office of the President, following longstanding University practice.

It is longstanding University of California practice not to disclose or publicly announce the names of the candidates who have received invitations to be interviewed. Similarly, the candidates are not brought to the campus for any public meetings at any point during the search process. While this practice is used by a small number of institutions elsewhere, such an approach is not used in the University of California. The candidates invited for interviews are receiving voluminous information about UC Davis and about the University of California. If requested by the candidate with whom President Yudof enters into final discussions, an informal, non-public visit to the campus will be arranged also by the Office of the President, with escort by one or two members of the search committee.

We certainly anticipate that a new Chancellor will be identified well before July 1, 2009. The exact timetable for the actual transition will, in large part, depend on the particular circumstances that the new Chancellor may have at her/his current location of employment. President Yudof’s timetable continues to recognize that June 30 is the date on which Chancellor Vanderhoef intends to step down.

We would like to take this opportunity to again thank Chancellor Vanderhoef for his decades of service to this campus. We also wish to thank the campus community for its assistance in nominating so many outstanding candidates for this position.

We hope that this information reassures you that the search is proceeding on an active, efficient and comprehensive basis.

Sincerely,

Faculty Sub-Committee of the Advisory Committee for the Selection of the Chancellor, UC Davis:

Professor Linda Bisson (Chair)
Professor Michael Clegg
Professor Mary Croughan
Professor Margaret Ferguson
Professor Robert L. Powell

 For more information on the UC Davis chancellor search, visit: chancellorsearch.ucdavis.edu

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