University of California president to step down after 5 years marked by pandemic, campus protests
SACRAMENTO, Calif.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The president of the University of California announced Wednesday he would step down after five years of leading one of the nation’s largest public university systems through the coronavirus pandemic, labor strikes and campus protests.
Michael V. Drake, the first Black person to serve in the role in the system’s more than 150-year history, said he would step down at the end of the 2024-2025 school year. He called serving in the post “the honor of a lifetime.”
“I am immensely proud of what the UC community has accomplished,” Drake said in a statement. “At every turn, I have sought to listen to those I served, to uphold our shared UC values, and to do all I could to leave this institution in better shape than it was before. I’m proud to see the University continuing to make a positive impact on the lives of countless Californians through research, teaching, and public service.”
Drake began the role in July 2020, just months after the pandemic began and as racial justice protests had erupted across the country in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd. In the years since, the university system has seen other high-profile demonstrations, including in 2022 when thousands of graduate student workers went on strike for higher pay and earlier this year when students set up encampments to protest the war in Gaza.
As president, Drake secured a budget increase from the state of 5% annually over five years to help the university system increase enrollment and make its colleges more accessible to underrepresented students. He helped create plans to reduce tuition rate increases and offer free tuition for Native American students who are citizens of federally recognized tribes.
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