The University of California Board of Regents named Robert
Dynes, the current chancellor of UC San Diego, as the 18th UC
President on Wednesday.
Dynes, who was selected after an intense six-month nationwide
search, will replace current President Richard Atkinson in October,
taking over a UC system during a period of financial uncertainty
and substantial growth.
“There is no question in my mind that the right decision
was made,” Atkinson said.
UCLA Chancellor Albert Carnesale said Dynes was a “superb
choice” for the presidency and that he will help Dynes
maintain and enhance the UC’s reputation.
Forty-five minutes into his term as president-designate, Dynes
addressed the effects of enrollment growth on the UC, as well as
its relation to student fee increases. This past quarter, student
fees increased by $135 and are anticipated to go up further: some
estimates project a $795 increase for next year.
To help preserve the system’s quality, Dynes said he
supports a fee increase, but with a more consistent allocation.
“We need to figure out a rational structure for our
students and parents,” he said. “It should be
anticipated and planned so we will not be subject to boom and
bust.”
But, Matt Kaczmarek, member of the UC Regents student advisory
committee, did not approve of Dynes’ view that fee increases
are inevitable.
Students need a president that can be an ally to them, Kaczmarek
said. Still, Kaczmarek maintained that Dynes had a good track
record of listening to students and he is optimistic about the
future.
Even with the UC facing substantial cuts in its state funding
““ Gov. Gray Davis’ May Revision for the 2003-2004 state
budget slated a $300 million cut ““Â Dynes said the
university will find a way to handle a surge of several thousand
additional students without harming the caliber of teaching and
research.
“One thing I will not compromise is the quality of the
university,” Dynes said.
He went on to address the Los Alamos National Laboratory, one of
three labs the UC operates for the Department of Energy. Los Alamos
in particular has been plagued with mismanagement problems,
including lost equipment and lavish meal expenses. As a result, the
DOE put the LANL up for bid in 2005 when the UC contract
expires.
It is not certain whether the UC will bid to continue to operate
the lab, and Atkinson has not made a clear declaration on the
university’s intentions. Dynes said it is premature for the
UC to make a decision on whether to compete for the lab, adding
that it depends on whether the DOE’s intentions for the lab
agree with those of the UC.
“If conditions are consistent with the mission of the UC,
then we should go forward,” Dynes said. “But we should
prepare as if we should be competing.”
Dynes came to UCSD in 1991 as a professor of physics and was
named chancellor of the university in 1996. During his tenure as
chancellor, student enrollment and outreach increased, a new
undergraduate college was established, and graduation rates
remained consistently high.
Dynes leaves UCSD as the sixth-ranked university in federal
awards for research and the seventh-ranked public university in the
nation, according to U.S. News and World Report rankings.
The search for a new UC president began after Atkinson, who had
taken the post in 1995, announced last November his intention to
retire, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family.
A nine-member regental selection committee, chosen by Regents
Chairman John Moores and headed by Regent John Davies, considered
over 300 applicants for the position before whittling the pool down
to one, aided by the advice of students, faculty, staff, and
alumni.
Atkinson leaves behind a strong legacy for his predecessor to
follow, presiding over the UC during some its most important
milestones.
Under his term, the UC Regents rescinded SP-1 and SP-2, policies
which prohibited the consideration of race and gender in UC hiring,
streamlined the admittance of transfer students, and revamped the
UC’s admissions process to de-emphasize the prominence of
standardized test scores.
As president, Dynes will head a 135-year-old university system
of 10 campuses and over 200,000 students.
As for his ongoing business at UCSD, Dynes said he will tend to
the graduate students who are studying under him at his laboratory,
to help them complete their dissertations. Afterwards, he said he
will appoint an interim chancellor for the campus and then turn his
sights toward a national search for his permanent successor.
With reports from Menaka Fernando/DAILY BRUIN SENIOR
STAFF