At the start of the academic year, many might feel overwhelmed at the prospect of adapting to a new environment. Similarly, the university’s top post, the chancellorship, will also undergo change.
For the first time in over nine years, the chief executive position will be taken by a new chancellor: Gene Block.
Historically, only eight chancellors have led UCLA. Block, a provost from the University of Virginia, was appointed to be the ninth chancellor in December 2006. It is planned for Block to assume the post this August.
For the past year, Acting Chancellor Norman Abrams has served the position following the end of former Chancellor Albert Carnesale’s nine-year term.
Block, who earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Stanford University and both his master’s and doctoral degrees in psychology from the University of Oregon, said he wants to focus on creating interdisciplinary programs, increasing diversity within the student body and faculty, and continuing fundraising efforts.
The chancellor has oversight on all aspects of the university. In an earlier interview, Block said he sees his role as a “conductor coordinating all the activities.”
“A lot of it is being a conductor and getting all the pieces working together. It’s an orchestration with room for creativity,” Block said.
In December, the University of California Board of Regents met by teleconference during closed session and confirmed UC President Robert Dynes’ recommendation to appoint Block.
Block’s selection marked the end of the yearlong search process initiated by Carnesale’s announcement to step down.
Meanwhile, Abrams has been quick to take action when crisis has risen in the past year at UCLA.
When UCLA received national attention and criticism regarding the declining trend of the number of underrepresented student minorities, Abrams’ quick response was a catalyst for drafting and adopting a new admission process entirely.
Abrams also took measures to provide extended security for faculty members, particularly those faculty members threatened by animal rights activists for doing research using chimpanzees.
Another major crisis was the security breach in the past year that occurred when the Social Security numbers, addresses and contact information of approximately 800,000 people were compromised when a hacker broke into a university database.
Abrams responded by addressing community concerns and helping to organize a call center hotline to answer questions from members of the community.
Jared Fox, a doctoral student of computer science and a member of the search committee that interviewed Block, said he is confident in Block’s ability to lead the university.
Fox noted Block’s experience in dealing with issues such as student diversity at the University of Virginia.
During the search process, Block “talked about his experiences at the University of Virginia. He talked about his efforts to try to turn that around and make the community more open to minority students,” Fox said.
“He’s really a very likable person. … (He’s an) incredibly intelligent man who could run a university. (It was just) very obvious that he understands how things work and what direction he feels UCLA should take,” Fox added.
Block’s annual salary is set at $416,000, which is almost $100,000 more than the salaries of Carnesale and Abrams. Block’s salary makes him one of the two highest-paid campus leaders within the University of California system, making as much as UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau and more than Dynes.