Why has UC Davis experienced so many new hires recently? For example, we’ve had a new chancellor, provost and vice chancellor of research all in the past two academic years.
UC Davis is a large and extremely complex organization and in order to effectively manage it, it requires an accomplished team with the type of specialized talent, skills and knowledge that comprise a major public research university.
With 6,000 acres spread across Davis and Sacramento, we are the largest UC campus. Our administrators oversee 17 million square feet of classrooms, lecture halls, labs, residence and dining halls and offices – and the people inside those spaces. We serve 32,290 students, 4,453 faculty and 24,158 staff. When you compare the size of our campus and population with other UCs, our team of campus leaders is relatively lean.
So when critical positions like those of chancellor, provost and vice chancellor of research open up, it’s crucial to find the right people – and quickly – to fill them. Leading a university of this size is a great honor and a great challenge. During this ongoing financial crisis, I cannot do it alone. Our university must survive but also thrive. To do so, we need a coordinated team of the nation’s best and brightest minds in research, fundraising, in the provost’s office and as deans of our schools and colleges.
For example, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Ralph Hexter joined us in January 2011 as the university’s chief academic and operating officer. He oversees our 4,453 faculty members – spread across four colleges and six professional schools – and the associated budget. Our new vice chancellor of research, Harris Lewin, oversees 28 research units and more than 130 researchers, and an annual research budget that currently exceeds $700 million. And our vice chancellor for the UC Davis Health System, Claire Pomeroy, is responsible for the health system in Sacramento and its associated budget of $1.6 billion.
We need all these people working together to help lead our campus and continue its upward trajectory toward excellence. I want to assure you that our team is devoted to our campus and to helping all students achieve their educational goals.
Got a question for the chancellor? Send it to campus@theaggie.org.
