University Of California President Michael Drake Will Step Down at End of the Academic Year

University of California President Michael Drake announced on Wednesday that he will be stepping down from the position at the end of the year after less than five years in the post.

Drake, a long-time University administrator, began his career as a medical doctor and faculty member at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) in the mid 1970’s. He soon advanced and became associate Dean by the 90’s. In 2000, Drake served five years as vice president for health affairs for the UC System before becoming Chancellor of UC Irvine in 2005. In 2014, he was tapped as the next President of Ohio State University. Then in 2020, following former UC President Janet Napolitano leaving the position, he was chosen as the next President of the UC system.

Drake’s short four year tenure as President has been seen widely as “rocky.” While Drake’s tenure has brought about an increase of enrollment, Drake also oversaw some of the largest disruptions in UC history. In 2022, Drake’s mishandling of union relations brought about the largest academic strike in US history which lasted for over a month. Earlier this year, Drake was also slow to respond to student protests over the Israel-Hamas war, leading to the largest campus protests since the Vietnam War across the UC system, and resulting in a combined total of hundreds of arrests and damage to many of the campuses.

This led to Wednesday, when Drake said in a letter that he would be stepping down in 2025 with no reason provided.

“I have informed UC Board of Regents Chair Janet Reilly that I will step down from my role as president at the end of the 2024-25 academic year. My plan is to take a sabbatical, after which I will return to the faculty,” said Drake on Wednesday.

“I am immensely proud of what our students, faculty, and staff have accomplished these past several years. You have weathered a global pandemic and historic natural disasters, dealt with international conflict and domestic political uncertainty, navigated the stresses and opportunities of daily life, all while making our University stronger, more resilient, more impactful, and more inclusive than ever before. It has been my honor to serve as your president.”

“Over the next year, we will continue the work that we have focused on during my tenure. That includes expanding student support and creating paths to a debt-free UC education, ensuring that more California students can reap the benefits of a UC degree, building on the University’s academic and research excellence, and working to promote a safe and respectful community that fosters a free exchange of ideas.”

Serving as @UofCalifornia president has been the honor of a lifetime. After 5 years in the role, I will step down at the end of the academic year. Excited to finish some of the work we began together & explore new ways to support the University. Fiat Lux! https://t.co/Ky2ommolVs

— Michael V. Drake (@UCPrezDrake) July 31, 2024

Governor Gavin Newsom also gave a brief statement over Drake stepping down, adding,  “President Drake took the reins of the University of California during the height of the pandemic and has led with grace and vision in the years since. He has used his decades of experience to advocate for better access to higher education for all Californians and has always fought for academic excellence.”

While a search committee for the next President is to be launched soon by the UC Board of Regents, academic experts said that the timing of his bowing out was not fully a coincidence with recent UC events.

“The COVID times went right into the strikes which went right into the protests,” explained academia researcher Phil Walsh to the Globe on Wednesday. “He never had a break. And with Gaza protests coming up again in the fall, along with the election and all that, it looks like that is going to continue.”

“He didn’t handle it well, but to be fair to Drake, not many would be exactly prepared for that sort of thing. Notice when previous President’s announced that they would be leaving there was a lot of fanfare and such. Not so with Drake. Newsom’s statement was pretty much saying ‘Congrats on a job done.’ UC will really need to look at the candidates this time around. Don’t make it political and focus on how they handled major events in the past. It might be something of a tall order, especially for UC, but they are going to need that sort of person who can handle protests, who can handle unions, and most importantly, keep it focused on academics and not make it political.”

The search committee for the next UC President is expected to be formed soon.