Chancellor Katehi published a letter addressed to the Athletic Advisory Committee on Friday, indicating the direction that she feels would be best for UC Davis athletics as the committee continues its search for a new athletics director.
In the letter, Katehi addressed many of the concerns presented by students, parents and faculty members at the town hall meetings during October and November.
Most notably, Katehi affirmed her commitment to maintaining all 23 of UC Davis’ current athletics programs — a position that was brought into doubt by the results of the Dempsey Report.
“I have no plans, intentions or desire to discontinue any teams at UC Davis,” stated Katehi, “not today and not in the foreseeable future.”
Katehi also wrote extensively about the university’s need to maintain “academic excellence and integrity,” and stated that she was committed to maintaining the teacher-coach model.
Katehi concludes the letter by outlining the process that will take place over the next few months.
She asks the committee to pause the recruiting process until she meets with the Academic Senate’s Special Committee on Athletics later this quarter.
From there she requests that “the committee schedule and publicize a series of forums with each of the finalist candidates for the director position.”
The forums are intended to allow the candidates to express their plans for the future of UC Davis athletics, as well as to engage in a question-and-answer segment.
— Trevor Cramer
