Special committee to conduct search for new UC President
Faculty, student, staff committees to consult as well

04 December 2002 | On Friday, Nov. 22, the chair of the UC Board of Regents, John Moores, named a nine-member special committee to conduct the search for a successor to retiring UC President Richard Atkinson, who will step down on Oct. 1, 2003.

“I am pleased that such an experienced and able group of regents will represent us in this important task,” said Moores. “In the months ahead, the committee will conduct a thorough nationwide search for a new president with the vision, scholarship, and leadership to maintain the exceptional quality and accessibility of the University of California.”

Serving on the special committee will be:

• John Davies, a 10-year veteran of the Board of Regents who serves as counsel in the law firm of Allen, Matkins, Leck, Gamble & Mallory in San Diego. Davies will serve as chair of the special committee.

• Judith Hopkinson, former chief operating officer of Ameriquest Capital Corp. She will serve as vice-chair of the committee.

• Sherry Lansing, the chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures’ Motion Picture Group.

• Monica Lozano, the president and chief operating officer of La Opinión newspaper, the nation’s largest Spanish-language daily newspaper.

• George Marcus, founder and chairman of the Marcus & Millchamp Co., a national commercial real-estate brokerage, investment, and development firm.

In addition to those members appointed by the chair, the special committee will include four members who will (in accordance with the bylaws of the regents) serve by virtue of their positions on the Board of Regents. They include:
• Governor Gray Davis, who is president of the Board of Regents. The governor has served as an ex-officio member of the board for eight years, both during his first term as governor and previously as lieutenant governor.

• Dexter Ligot-Gordon, who is the current student regent. Ligot-Gordon is an undergraduate at UC Berkeley majoring in political economy of industrial societies.

• Moores, who will serve on the special committee in his capacity as chair of the Board of Regents. Moores is the chairman of the San Diego Padres baseball club and a trustee of the Carter Center of Emory University in Atlanta.

• Fred Sainick, who represents the alumni as president of the Alumni Associations of the University of California. Sainick currently serves as an alumni regent and is an attorney with the law firm of Sainick & Coté. He earned his undergraduate degree from UC Irvine and his law degree from UCLA.

The committee will invite the Academic Council to appoint an academic advisory committee to assist in screening candidates. To facilitate further consultation, student, staff, and alumni advisory committees will also be appointed.