OC Register Article on UC Irvine's Search for New Chancellor

Hat tip John Speedie


White males need not apply?

Today's Orange County Register is running  a story by Lori Basheda on UC Irvine's search for a new chancellor. The out-going chancellor, Michael Drake, is taking an equal position at Ohio State University at a much higher pay than the $401,000 he is currently receiving. Good for him.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/uci-604560-campus-university.html

"Wanted: Someone to lead UC Irvine into the future on the eve of its 50th birthday. It might help if you’re a woman or minority. And you could make more than $400,000 a year."

First of all, I don't mind if the eventual selection is a woman or minority. I could suggest two in particular whom I think would be excellent choices, Condoleeza Rice and Thomas Sowell, both of whom are currently at Stanford. So there.

It is just that little comment by Basheda that gives me pause. 

I have no quarrel with UCI insuring that women and minorities get equal consideration for the job for chancellor. Other UC campuses are well represented by women and minorities in the chancellorship position, and of course, Drake himself is African-American. The current vice chancellor for student affairs is also African-American. His predecessor, Manuel Gomez, was Mexican-American. To be brief, I don't think discrimination against women or minorities in hiring  is a problem at UCI or any other UC campus. Of the current UC chancellors, three are white males (UCLA, Berkeley and Santa Cruz). The chancellors at Riverside, Davis and San Francisco are women. The chancellors at UCSD and UC Santa Barbara are of Indian and Chinese descent respectively. How's that for bean-counting?

                                                     "Ah wunnerful, ah wunnerful, ah."*

*(For the benefit of all you UC Santa Cruz History of Consciousness and Community Studies majors, the above guy is Lawrence Welk. He was a white male from North Dakota. I'd better stop here lest they nominate Angela Davis for chancellor.)

So what happens if after that exhaustive 6-month search for a successor, they come up with a white male  to succeed an African-American at UCI? Will there be protests by students and faculty? Likely so. Last year, the appointment of Howard Gillman as UCI provost was met by protests.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/faculty-509274-irvine-usc.html

(Well, at least Mark LeVine wished him well. That was certainly a good harbinger.)

It is sad that we are still playing racial and gender politics in this day and age-especially with an institution that is well-represented at the executive level by women and minorities. Do we still need statements like the above-quoted one by the OCR writer?

Oh, I almost forgot our UC president, Janet Napolitano.

So let the search begin. My nominations (above) are in.