IRVINE : Ex-UCLA Official in Line for UCI Post

Former UCLA official Anne Spence is expected to be appointed to the UC Irvine administration this month as vice chancellor of academic programs, university officials said Tuesday. The Board of Regents is expected to approve the move next week, and Spence is scheduled to assume the post April 1, officials said.

“This position offers an excellent opportunity to play an active role in planning for the future as the campus begins its next 25 years,” Spence said in a statement.

Karen Young, a UCI spokesperson, said the position was created for Spence to develop academic policies and resource allocation in the face of tight budgets. Spence is scheduled to work with the executive vice chancellor in shaping both undergraduate and graduate academic affairs and their $35-million budget.

She also will oversee operation of the university’s extension and summer school sessions, as well as its library.

Moreover, Spence has accepted an academic appointment as professor of pediatrics in UCI’s California College of Medicine.

Spence earned an bachelor’s degree in biology from Grinnell College in Iowa in 1966 and a Ph.D in human genetics from the University of Hawaii. She joined UCLA in 1970 and was appointed associate dean of the graduate division in 1988.

Spence will become the eighth woman administrator in the 28-member executive program, the highest rung of administrators. Four women have joined the executive program since 1990.