UC President Janet Napolitano released a statement earlier today announcing that she has selected UC Irvine Provost & Executive Vice Chancellor and current Interim Chancellor, Howard Gillman as UCI’s sixth chancellor. The position was vacated in July after former UCI Chancellor Michael V. Drake announced that he would be leaving his post to become Ohio State University’s next president.
“Howard Gillman will bring a great array of attributes to the entire UC Irvine community as chancellor,” Napolitano said in the statement. “He appreciates entrepreneurial spirit and bold ambitions embodied by the campus, and he has the imagination, intelligence and energy to lead the faculty, staff and students to the next level of exellence.”
Gillman was selected after a search committee appointed by Napolitano reviewed over 400 candidates. He first assumed a position at UC Irvine in 2013 as Provost & Executive Vice Chancellor after leaving a position at the University of Southern California (USC), where he served as the dean of Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. However, his appointment was initially met with controversy when the Irvine Faculty Association (IFA) — a voluntary faculty association affiliated with the Council of UC Faculty Relations (CUCFR), issued a statement raising concerns about the then incoming Provost Gillman.
Prior to holding administrative positions he taught political science, history and law at USC, before becoming a dean. The incoming chancellor has a history in the UC system, he earned his bachelors, masters, and doctoral degree at UCLA.
“Though it’s a relatively young campus at just over 50 years old, UC Irvine is incredibly accomplished, with great aspirations. I look forward to forging a shared vision with all who teach, research, learn and work on the campus, and with the larger community outside the campus,” Gillman said in a statement.
His appointment to the post of Chancellor will be voted on for approval by the UC Regents in their upcoming meeting on September 18th in San Francisco.