Janet A. Napolitano, president of the 10-campus University of California system, announced on Wednesday that she would step down in August 2020. Napolitano, a former governor of Arizona and U.S. secretary of homeland security, has led the California system since 2013.
“My time at UC has been deeply gratifying and rewarding,” Napolitano said in a news release. “I have been honored and inspired every day to serve this institution alongside incredibly dedicated, passionate people. The decision was tough — and this moment, bittersweet — but the time is right.”
We're sorry. Something went wrong.
We are unable to fully display the content of this page.
The most likely cause of this is a content blocker on your computer or network.
Please allow access to our site, and then refresh this page.
You may then be asked to log in, create an account if you don't already have one,
or subscribe.
If you continue to experience issues, please contact us at 202-466-1032 or help@chronicle.com
Janet A. Napolitano, president of the 10-campus University of California system, announced on Wednesday that she would step down in August 2020. Napolitano, a former governor of Arizona and U.S. secretary of homeland security, has led the California system since 2013.
“My time at UC has been deeply gratifying and rewarding,” Napolitano said in a news release. “I have been honored and inspired every day to serve this institution alongside incredibly dedicated, passionate people. The decision was tough — and this moment, bittersweet — but the time is right.”
Napolitano is the first woman to serve as president of the prestigious California system.
Her tenure was at times turbulent. Napolitano clashed with Linda P.B. Katehi, who resigned in 2016 as chancellor of the University of California at Davis after a damning system investigation into her chancellorship. In 2017 a state audit found that Napolitano’s office had hidden large sums of money from scrutiny, and that her office had tampered with the probe. Napolitano disputed that audit. A previous audit determined that the system had enrolled too many out-of-state students, a finding that Napolitano also disputed.
The president emerged as a forceful opponent to the Trump administration’s rollbacks of Obama-era initiatives. The system sued the administration over its effort to eliminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program — the creation of which she oversaw as secretary of homeland security. And in 2016 she ordered the system’s campuses to strengthen their responses to alleged sexual misconduct.
ADVERTISEMENT
The system’s news release credited Napolitano with improving access for in-state students, leading the system to a prominent position in the battle against climate change, and keeping tuition stable.
“We have new regents on UC’s governing board, a new governor in Sacramento, and a presidential election on the horizon,” Napolitano said in the release. “With many of my top priorities accomplished and the university on a strong path forward, I feel it’s the ideal time for a leadership transition — an infusion of new energy and fresh ideas at the university.”