I
am very pleased to inform you that the Board of Regents today
appointed Robert C. Dynes, a distinguished physicist, dedicated
teacher, and highly skilled chancellor of UC San Diego, as the
18th president of the University of California system, effective
Oct. 2, 2003.
The Regents appointed Chancellor Dynes after conducting a
thorough national search that produced more than 300 candidates.
We were assisted by advisory committees of faculty, staff,
students, and alumni, all of whom provided critical input.
All of us were looking for a candidate with the mix of skills
and experiences necessary to maintain the quality and accessibility
of the University of California during this challenging period
of time, and in Bob Dynes we found a perfect match.
For those of you who don’t know him, President-Designate
Dynes is an expert on semiconductors and superconductors who
spent a 22-year physics career in the private sector at AT&T
Bell Laboratories before coming to UCSD in 1991 as professor
of physics. He later served as chair of the Department of
Physics and senior vice chancellor for academic affairs before
being named chancellor in 1996. He has continued his research
and teaching while serving as chancellor.
His wife, Frances Dynes Hellman, also is professor of physics
at UC San Diego and an expert on magnetic and superconducting
materials.
With Bob’s leadership, UCSD has continued its ascent
as one of the nation’s premier research universities.
Bob has proven himself to be someone who cares deeply about
academic excellence, the quality of the student experience,
the work environment of the staff, and the University’s
obligations to the public and to the next generation of California
students.
He also is a first-generation college graduate and a Canadian-born
immigrant to the United States who has a deep appreciation
for the meaning of educational opportunity.
In addition, President-Designate Dynes brings a long-term
affiliation with the national laboratories that UC manages
for the federal government. He is vice chair of the UC President’s
Council on the National Laboratories, a member of the Los
Alamos National Laboratory Oversight Board, and a former member
of the Argonne National Laboratory board. In addition, he
has had a 25-year association with the laboratories as a scientific
adviser and consultant.
In following Dick Atkinson as president, Bob Dynes will have
big shoes to fill. But I am fully confident in his ability
to work with the entire UC community to maintain and enhance
this University’s tradition of excellence in teaching,
research, and public service.
More information about the appointment will be available
on the UC web site at http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/newpresident/.
Please join me in welcoming Bob Dynes as president-designate
of the University of California.
Sincerely,
John J. Moores
Chairman
The Regents of the University of California
Calendar
