COUNTYWIDE : UCI Official Takes No. 2 Job at Arizona
UC Irvine Vice Chancellor Paul S. Sypherd on Monday was named the No. 2 administrator at the University of Arizona in Tucson.
Sypherd, one of the most popular home-grown candidates in the running to be UCI’s third chancellor, will become senior vice president for academic affairs and provost of the Arizona university, which with 38,000 students is more than twice as large as UCI. The Tucson campus also ranks 15th among major U.S. research universities, according to the National Science Foundation. UCI has ranked about 50th in the NSF listings in recent years.
“It was both a personal and professional decision,” Sypherd said, noting that he is a product of Arizona public schools and earned his master’s degree in microbiology at the campus he will now help to lead.
“I feel something of a debt of gratitude to the people of Arizona. If I can repay that debt I would be happy,” said the 55-year-old microbiologist, who will take his new post in January. “Professionally, it’s a new and broader experience as an administrator. . . . It means I can keep growing and learning.”
Word of Sypherd’s departure came as a panel of University of California regents, faculty, students, alumni and staff met for the first time Monday in what is expected to be a lengthy process to choose a successor for UCI Chancellor Jack W. Peltason. Peltason, who heads the search committee, becomes president of the UC system on Oct. 1.
The search committee listened to various UCI groups discuss qualities they would value in the next chancellor. In general, most speakers wanted a distinguished academician who would be a strong leader, yet willing to consult with faculty, staff and students on the tough decisions ahead for UCI, according to several people who attended the meeting.
As the university prepares to trim its budget 10% in anticipation of state funding cuts, those decisions have “great potential to create lasting damage to academic programs on this campus,” said Prof. Eric J. Stanbridge, a specialist in the molecular genetics of cancer who will become chairman of UCI’s Academic Senate on Sept. 1.
“It will be incumbent on the new chancellor, in consultation with many campus groups, to do everything possible to ensure that damage would be minimal, and that the continued academic excellence of this university will be protected,” he added.
The search committee already has received nominations for at least 75 to 100 candidates, and more are expected. Peltason indicated to faculty and administrators that he hoped to conclude the process by early next year.
Virtually all vice chancellors and above within the UC system are regarded as candidates for the post. Those most often mentioned include L. Dennis Smith, a cell biologist who is now executive vice chancellor and will be acting chancellor when Peltason leaves, and psychobiologist James L. McGaugh, a former UCI executive vice chancellor who is an international expert on the human brain. Others are Sypherd and former UCI chemist Marjorie Caserio, who is vice chancellor for academic affairs at UC San Diego.
Several faculty members said in interviews that Sypherd’s departure was a big loss for the campus and comes at a time when his talent for bringing together disparate factions of the university is in great need. But Sypherd was said to be a dark horse for chancellor because he lacked the experience of running a university campus, something he will gain at the Arizona campus.
“He’s someone who really should have been executive vice chancellor and on the short list for chancellor this time around,” said one faculty member who asked not to be identified.
“After 22 years at UCI, Paul was of one of a handful of people who knew how to inspire cooperative, collective endeavors,” added John M. Whiteley, a professor in social ecology and former campus administrator.
Spencer C. Olin, an historian and dean of UCI’s School of Humanities, said the university was not only losing one of the most capable vice chancellors it has had in recent years, but also a “very able” assistant dean of engineering in Linda J. Sypherd, Paul Sypherd’s wife. She is currently discussing various assistant dean posts at the University of Arizona campus.
Sypherd, whose annual salary will be $137,000, said he had mixed emotions over his departure later this year.
“There’s always a little sadness, a lot of hand wringing over leaving ones friends and colleagues,” he said. “But I have a very good feeling about this decision.”
