UCI Post Filled Amid Calls for ‘Diversity’ : Academia: While all agree L. Dennis Smith is qualified, some question the university’s commitment to putting women and minorities in top administrative positions.

The University of California Board of Regents on Friday unanimously and without discussion named a UC Irvine dean, L. Dennis Smith, to become the school’s executive vice chancellor.

UCI Chancellor Jack Peltason hailed the choice of Smith, saying they would work together to continue the emphasis on quality and diversity as the campus prepares to nearly double in size during the new decade.

Smith said he plans to devote considerable energy to increasing the number of women and minorities among faculty, students and staff.

But others said that while Smith is eminently qualified, his very appointment symbolizes the university’s “lack of commitment” to increased diversity among top administrators.

“I think we would have more women and minorities if there was a greater commitment,” said pharmacology professor Sue P. Duckles, chairwoman-elect of UCI’s Academic Senate, the campus’s faculty governing body.

Student regent designate Jenny Doh, a senior at UCI, said she feared Smith’s appointment signaled a shift in the “progressive winds” on campus generated by Smith’s predecessor, Chang-Lin Tien, who becomes UC Berkeley’s chancellor July 1.

“I don’t agree with that,” Peltason said as the regents concluded their meeting at UC San Diego. “I am committed to diversity.” Yet Peltason agreed that the pace of diversifying the campus was not as swift as he would like.

“It’s one of the problems we’re working on. We’re trying to get more women and minorities and to promote and nurture those we have,” the chancellor said.

Smith said he is “highly sensitive to the issue . . . and the concerns” expressed by some on campus, who have complained that there are only a handful of women and minorities in high positions at the school.

“Ultimately, one is judged by what is accomplished,” Smith said. “My goal (as executive vice chancellor) is to see major accomplishments in the area of diversity.”

Smith, 52, and a developmental biologist, came from Purdue University in 1987 to be UCI’s dean of biological sciences. It is one of UCI’s largest schools, with 3,100 of the campus’s more than 16,000 students.

He takes over as executive vice chancellor in September, which will allow him to meet his commitments as dean. He said he also needs time this summer to complete laboratory research on embryo fertilization and cell division.

William Parker, assistant executive vice chancellor, will serve as the acting No. 2 official on campus until September, Smith said.

As executive vice chancellor with a salary of $134,000 a year, Smith will be the university’s chief operating officer, principal adviser to Peltason and acting chancellor in his absence.

He will oversee academic and student affairs, research and graduate studies, as well as business services, budgetary and personnel matters.

He also will take charge of the long-range academic plan, which is nearing completion as the university considers where it is headed in the next century.

Duckles said her concerns over diversity are not a reflection on Smith, who is widely regarded as a good administrator and has been credited by many on campus with supporting minority student and faculty recruitment efforts.

“I’m looking forward to working with him,” she said.

Duckles said she planned to have “frequent conversations with (Smith) about women’s issues.”

At least in the area of biological sciences, Smith seemed to be anticipating those concerns.

He held a meeting with the school’s women faculty on Tuesday, during which he said they discussed recruitment of more women professors and students, as well as child care and other issues.

“Their feeling is that we need to hire more women faculty. I agree entirely,” Smith said.

He noted that of the 10 faculty hires he has made as dean, three are women and two are men from minority groups.

He also emphasized his support for a five-year, $1.2-million program funded by the Hughes Foundation and aimed at preparing more minority students in grade school and high school to become science majors at UCI. The goal, he said, is to “increase the pipeline” of women and minorities seeking academic careers.

Perhaps the biggest problem facing UCI and the other eight UC campuses is uncertainty over funding as the governor and Legislature battle over how to balance the state’s budget, Smith said. Dealing with the results of that fight will be a challenge awaiting him in September.

In the meantime, he said he also plans to spend the summer learning the views of various campus groups and individuals.

As executive vice chancellor, Smith said he will continue to have an “open-door policy” for any and all who want to speak with him.

“It feels very humbling . . . overwhelming sometimes,” Smith said from his campus office. “But I’m looking forward to the job.”