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The Katehi Years at UC-Davis

UC-Davis Chancellor Apologizes Amid Outrage Over Pepper-Spray Use on Students 2
Noah Berger for The Chronicle

The years since Linda P.B. Katehi became chancellor of the University of California at Davis, in 2009, have been marked by controversy and conflict.

The key event was a campus police officer’s pepper-spraying of peaceful student protesters in 2011, an incident with both immediate and long-lasting consequences for Ms. Katehi.

Here’s a look at what happened, and how it led indirectly to her resignation in 2016.

Linda P.B. Katehi, then chancellor of the U. of California at Davis, attends a meeting of the U. of California system’s regents in November 2011.
Leadership
A Year After Her Ouster, Linda Katehi Still Can’t Resist a Fight
By Fernanda Zamudio-Suarez
Almost a year after stepping down from her controversial tenure as chancellor of the University of California at Davis, Linda Katehi says she’s ready to return to campus as a faculty member.
Linda P.B. Katehi: pressured to resign.
Leadership
The 5 Missteps That Toppled Linda Katehi
The embattled chancellor of the University of California at Davis resigned Tuesday as the system released its investigation into accusations that she had engaged in nepotism, unauthorized service on corporate boards, and extraordinary efforts to manipulate social-media.
Linda Katehi, chancellor of the U. of California at Davis, takes what has been dubbed the "Walk of Shame" in 2011, after the pepper-spraying of peaceful student protesters by a campus police officer.
Leadership
The Slow-Motion Downfall of Linda Katehi
By Jack Stripling, Fernanda Zamudio-Suarez
With her job on the line and Janet Napolitano on the case, the University of California at Davis’s chancellor can’t resist a fight.
Linda P.B. Katehi: pressured to resign.
Leadership
In Fight Over UC-Davis Chancellor’s Future, Where Does the Faculty Stand?
By Fernanda Zamudio-Suarez
Despite her mounting controversies, many faculty members say Linda P.B. Katehi should stay on as the campus leader, while others are using the opportunity to voice different concerns.
Linda Katehi, chancellor of UC-Davis, is confronting a new round of criticism after news emerged that the university had hired consultants to remove negative postings from the Internet about the 2011 pepper-spraying of student protesters.
Leadership
UC-Davis Chancellor Says She’s Not Going Anywhere
By Fernanda Zamudio-Suarez
Calls for her resignation over a revived controversy are missing the big picture, Linda P.B. Katehi tells The Chronicle.
In November 2011 the U. of California at Davis faced scathing criticism after a campus police officer used pepper spray to disperse protesters. Five years later the university has drawn renewed criticism for hiring public-relations firms to bury online references to the incident. The controversy is a case study in the hazards of such tactics.
Marketing
UC-Davis Was Ridiculed for Trying to Sway Search Results. Many Other Colleges Do the Same.
By Peter Schmidt
The university’s leaders have come under fire for revelations that they hired consultants to bury online references to its infamous pepper-spray incident. The controversy is a case study in the hazards of such tactics.
Linda P.B. Katehi, chancellor of the U. of California at Davis, drew outrage when the campus police pepper-sprayed student protesters. But she now says the incident had a positive result: "When there is a crisis in an organization, you see things you would not normally see."
Leadership
UC-Davis Chancellor Reflects on ‘Horrible’ Debacle at 2011 Protest
By Jack Stripling
A year and a half after students were pepper-sprayed in a botched police operation, Linda P.B. Katehi recalls the toll the incident took on her and her family.
Lt. John Pike, the officer most closely linked to the pepper-spray incident, had no clearly defined role in the operations plan, the report found, yet he was responsible for the key decision about the weapon used. The report also criticizes the campus police chief as a force of confusion or out of the loop.
UC-Davis Investigation
UC-Davis Pepper-Spray Report Faults Chancellor and Police
By Jack Stripling
The incident “should and could have been prevented,” an investigative panel says in a scathing report.
Linda P.B. Katehi, chancellor of the U. of California at Davis, promised to earn back the trust of students at a rally on the campus on Monday.
News
UC-Davis Chancellor Apologizes Amid Outrage Over Pepper-Spraying of Students
By Goldie Blumenstyk
Linda P.B. Katehi spoke to a crowd of thousands who gathered to protest the actions of the campus police, but there were continued calls for her to resign.
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Leadership & Governance