SUBJECT:  UCSD Chancellor Dynes Named New UC President

MEMBERS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY:

I am very pleased to inform you that the Board of Regents today appointed Robert C. Dynes, a distinguished physicist, dedicated teacher, and highly skilled chancellor of UC San Diego, as the 18th president of the University of California system, effective Oct. 2, 2003.

The Regents appointed Chancellor Dynes after conducting a thorough national search that produced more than 300 candidates. We were assisted by advisory committees of faculty, staff, students, and alumni, all of whom provided critical input. All of us were looking for a candidate with the mix of skills and experiences necessary to maintain the quality and accessibility of the University of California during this challenging period of time, and in Bob Dynes we found a perfect match.

For those of you who don't know him, President-Designate Dynes is an expert on semiconductors and superconductors who spent a 22-year physics career in the private sector at AT&T Bell Laboratories before coming to UCSD in 1991 as professor of physics. He later served as chair of the Department of Physics and senior vice chancellor for academic affairs before being named chancellor in 1996. He has continued his research and teaching while serving as chancellor.

His wife, Frances Dynes Hellman, also is professor of physics at UC San Diego and an expert on magnetic and superconducting materials.

With Bob's leadership, UCSD has continued its ascent as one of the nation's premier research universities. Bob has proven himself to be someone who cares deeply about academic excellence, the quality of the student experience, the work environment of the staff, and the University's obligations to the public and to the next generation of California students.

He also is a first-generation college graduate and a Canadian-born immigrant to the United States who has a deep appreciation for the meaning of educational opportunity.

In addition, President-Designate Dynes brings a long-term affiliation with the national laboratories that UC manages for the federal government. He is vice chair of the UC President's Council on the National Laboratories, a member of the Los Alamos National Laboratory Oversight Board, and a former member of the Argonne National Laboratory board. In addition, he has had a 25-year association with the laboratories as a scientific adviser and consultant.

In following Dick Atkinson as president, Bob Dynes will have big shoes to fill. But I am fully confident in his ability to work with the entire UC community to maintain and enhance this University's tradition of excellence in teaching, research, and public service.

More information about the appointment will be available on the UC web site at http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/newpresident/. Please join me in welcoming Bob Dynes as president-designate of the University of California.

                                                Sincerely,

                                                John J. Moores
                                                Chairman
                                                The Regents of the University of California