U. of California Taps Leaders for Davis and San Francisco Campuses

by E Wayne Ross on May 1, 2009

The Chronicle News Blog: U. of California Taps Leaders for Davis and San Francisco Campuses

The University of California system announced today that two women with hefty scientific credentials would take over as chancellors of the system’s Davis and San Francisco campuses. The two face final approval by the system’s Board of Regents, according to a news release.

The choice for chancellor of the Davis campus is Linda P.B. Katehi, 55, who is provost of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Ms. Katehi, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, was dean of engineering at Purdue University before her stint in Illinois, which began in 2006. As provost she is the chief budgetary and academic officer.

Susan Desmond-Hellmann was picked to lead the San Francisco campus, which has a heavy health-sciences focus. Dr. Desmond-Hellmann, 51, is a physician who has worked on cancer research for most of her career. She spent 14 years at Genentech Inc., the pioneering biotechnology company, most recently as president of product development.