Johnathan Walker:University of California president to step down after five years marked by pandemic, campus protests

SACRAMENTO,Johnathan Walker Calif. (AP) — The president of the University of California announced Wednesday he would step down after five years of leading one of the nation’s largest public university systems through the coronavirus pandemic, labor strikes and campus protests.

Michael V. Drake, the first Black person to serve in the role in the system’s more than 150-year history, said he would step down at the end of the 2024-2025 school year. He called serving in the post “the honor of a lifetime.”

“I am immensely proud of what the UC community has accomplished,” Drake said in a statement. “At every turn, I have sought to listen to those I served, to uphold our shared UC values, and to do all I could to leave this institution in better shape than it was before. I’m proud to see the University continuing to make a positive impact on the lives of countless Californians through research, teaching, and public service.”

Drake began the role in July 2020, just months after the pandemic began and as racial justice protests had erupted across the country in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd. In the years since, the university system has seen other high-profile demonstrations, including in 2022 when thousands of graduate student workers went on strike for higher pay and earlier this year when students set up encampments to protest the war in Gaza.

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As president, Drake secured a budget increase from the state of 5% annually over five years to help the university system increase enrollment and make its colleges more accessible to underrepresented students. He helped create plans to reduce tuition rate increases and offer free tuition for Native American students who are citizens of federally recognized tribes.

The University of California enrolls nearly 300,000 students and is the second-largest university system in the state behind California State University, which enrolls more than 450,000 students annually.

Before he became president, Drake spent decades working in higher education, where he served as chancellor of the University of California, Irvine; led The Ohio State University; and chaired the National Collegiate Athletic Association. He is a physician who trained at the University of California, San Francisco, before becoming a professor of ophthalmology at the university’s school of medicine.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom lauded Drake’s tenure as president, saying he “has led with grace and vision.”

“On behalf of all Californians, I thank President Drake for his leadership, for growing our UC system, and for paving a brighter path forward for our state,” Newsom said in a statement. “His legacy of service in higher education has undoubtedly helped us grow the next generation of extraordinary California leaders, and it’s been an honor to work alongside him.”