UC President Dynes Announces Resignation

Editor's note: This article is part of the Daily Cal's Semester in Review series for the month of August.

UC President Robert Dynes announced Monday his intent to resign after serving nearly four years as head of the 10-campus system.

Dynes, whose term has been marked by executive pay compensation scandals, said he will step down in June 2008, or upon appointment of a replacement, to spend more time with his new wife and give someone else a chance to stand at the helm of the university.

“I thought long and hard about what my accomplishments have been and when and where it’s time to step down and let somebody else take the reins at the UC,” he said. “I really anticipated spending five years or so at this and then going and doing something else.”

Provost Wyatt Hume has been selected as the chief operating officer to handle day-to-day and internal operations in the office of the president until Dynes’ successor is chosen.

Meanwhile, Dynes said he will continue to work on projects he thinks are important and that he may be able to carry to completion before he leaves.

In a press call Monday, Dynes said the only pressure he faced to resign came from his wife, pointing out that he stayed through the compensation audits and restructuring of policy.

“I’m very, very proud of the things we’ve accomplished, we went through some difficult times, we split up and looked at ourselves and restructured the way we deal with compensation and I think by national standards we are the beacon of this,” Dynes said.

Student Regent Benjamin Allen said he was not surprised at the news, pointing to strained relations between Dynes and the regents.

“I think the relationship with the board had soured and I don’t think he was getting the respect and support that he needed to be an effective president and I think that grated on him,” he said.

Dynes began his term in 2003 after serving as chancellor at UC San Diego for seven years. He said he plans to return to the faculty, where he will likely continue his work in physics.

His term has been rife with controversy, although he was responsible for negotiating the student fee compact with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2004.

The compact guaranteed a small percentage increase in general fund allocations to the university from the previous year’s base until 2010-11.

Dynes headed the university through bidding processes for two of the three national labs now managed by the university and a collection of private entities. The UC Merced campus was also opened during his term.

But Dynes came under fire after a series of state and internal audits found university compensation policy to have been violated on a number of occasions.

A report approved by the regents at their May meeting detailed 22 policy violations committed by Dynes during his term as president. Most notable were 17 instances of failing to obtain regental approval for elements of compensation packages.

While Dynes acknowledged the policy breaches in a letter sent to the Board of Regents Monday, he said the practices “were intended for the good of the institution” and that “only in a few instances were there insignificant incidences of inappropriate action.”

Allen said he hoped the next president would continue with what he called the many positive advances started by Dynes, but added that he thought the resignation will allow the university to start with a clean slate in Sacramento.

“I do think that it has been a damaging chapter in the university’s history and it affected the university’s credibility in Sacramento,” Allen said. “My hope it that with new leadership we might be able to regain some of the credibility that we have lost and that could be a positive thing for students.”

A committee of regents and officials will be appointed by Regent Richard Blum, the chairman of the board, to launch a national search for a new president.

Blum said he hopes Dynes will leave with pride in his accomplishments, despite the criticism he has faced.

“It’s been a difficult time for all the reasons we know about and I think Bob can be proud of what he has accomplished and we plan to work together very closely during the transition,” he said.

Dynes said his successor will face many challenges, particularly maintaining a quality level education at an affordable price.

“We really do need to find sources of funding for the university that are not on the backs of students and that are not on the backs of middle-class taxpayers in California,” he said.

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