Yudof Formally Named Head of University of California System

SAN FRANCISCO — Mark Yudof never planned to leave the University of Texas.

At 63, as chancellor of one of the biggest and best university systems in the country and among the best-paid educators in America, why would he want to?

Only for the challenge of helping turn around what's widely considered one of the most prestigious university systems in the world, he said Thursday.

"To be honest I didn't expect to be leaving" Texas, Yudof said shortly after being named president of the University of California system, marking the beginning of the end of his more than 30-year on-and-off-again career with the University of Texas.

In a press conference following his appointment by the University of California Board of Regents, Yudof said he had previously planned to remain as chancellor of the UT system "for another couple of years" and then go back to teaching law full-time at UT's law school.

"I just wasn't looking for another job," he said.

But then California came calling.

Yudof said he first started talking with acquaintances about the job of president of UC about six months ago. About three weeks ago, UC Regents Chairman Richard Blum called him to formally begin talking about hiring him.

"I actually expected a three-minute conversation and a polite no," Blum said Thursday. "I never thought we'd get him."

What convinced Yudof to take the job in California is the school's prestige - UC is regularly named among the best university systems in the country - the challenge of turning around a system struggling with money and other problems and perhaps most importantly, a final hurrah for a career in education, he said.

"I guess I just felt like it would be great fun if we had one more mountain to climb," Yudof said as his wife Judy looked on.

Yudof will be well-paid for his efforts. His total annual compensation package will be about $828,000 in his first year, up from the $775,000 he makes in Texas.

Included in that is a base salary of $591,084, supplemental pension contributions that average $241,880 annually, an $8,900 annual car allowance and other perks. He'll also get free housing from UC - just as he does currently from the UT system.

Yudof's high salary - he is among the best-paid university leaders in the country, according to the publication Chronicle of Higher Education - and his deep roots at UT initially made him an unlikely candidate for the California job.

A native of Pennsylvania, Yudof spent 26 years at UT-Austin, teaching in the law school, serving as law dean and also as executive vice president and provost before becoming president of the University of Minnesota in 1997. He returned to Austin as UT System chancellor in August 2002 and steadily earned a reputation as one of the country's top education administrators.

Austin "is our adopted home," Judy Yudof said in a brief interview. Their two children, Seth and Samara, were raised in Texas. "What we'll miss most is friends," she said.

Yudof's name first surfaced as the top candidate for the California job a little over a week ago. Last Thursday, a UC search committee announced he was their No. 1 pick.

In the close-knit community of higher education, it was a surprise to some that Yudof was even considering leaving Texas.

"I never thought he would leave," said Terry Hartle, senior vice president of the American Council on Education, which represents colleges nationwide. "But I think Mark is looking to California and saying, 'This is the best public university system in the world and a terrific challenge.'"

Yudof said an exact start date has not been determined, but UC's current president is expected to step down at the end of June. He said he wanted to make sure to give the UT System plenty of time to find a replacement.

"I don't want to leave them in the lurch," Yudof said.

In a statement, H. Scott Caven, chairman of the UT System Board of Regents, said UT will conduct a national search for a replacement.

"No one is irreplaceable, but finding someone of his caliber is not going to be easy," Caven said.

Here in California, UC Regents voted without dissent Thursday in appointing Yudof as the president, despite the fact that he's the first true outsider brought in to run the California system in a generation.

Praise for him was widespread.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who called Yudof Thursday morning - much to Yudof's surprise - said in a statement that he was "a fantastic choice" for the UC presidency.

"This is the right person at the right time," UC Regent Russell Gould said via teleconference.

Indeed, the only questions raised Thursday about Yudof's hiring came from students who attended the regents' meeting, who wondered if the money-strapped UC system could afford him.

"He needs to raise the money to pay for himself," said UC grad student Alex Greninger. "You can't go back to the students again" with higher fees and tuition to help pay for his salary.

In California, Yudof takes over what's generally regarded as the nation's foremost research university, with 10 campuses, more than 220,000 students and an $18 billion annual budget.

By comparison, the UT System has 15 campuses with 194,000 students and an annual budget of about $10 billion.

Though some critics in Texas have complained about Yudof's high salary, he generally received high marks for his performance at the UT System.

Charles Miller, a Houston investor who was chairman of the UT regents when they hired Yudof, gave him particular praise for overhauling and reinvigorating UT's top management shortly after his arrival in Austin. Yudof replaced virtually every senior official in the system administration office after he took over at UT and brought in respected leaders such as Kenneth Shine, executive vice chancellor for health affairs, who is a former president of the Institute of Medicine.

"It didn't create a lot of tremors, but that was a remarkable transformation," said Charles Miller, a Houston investor who was chairman of the UT regents when they hired Yudof as chancellor for the 15-campus system.

"We weren't in deep trouble, but we were in a puddle," Miller said. "We were parking people sometimes instead of employing them."

Yudof did have some stumbles, including a scandal last year involving the financial aid director at UT-Austin and a political firestorm that erupted in 2003 after Yudof predicted that UT-Dallas might become the state's next top-tier institution. The remark offended officials at UT-Arlington to the point where lawmakers who represented the school threatened to pull it out of the UT System.

But if, as Miller described it, UT was "in a puddle" when Yudof arrived, California is drowning in problems.

Chief among them is a massive system-wide financial crisis stemming from a projected $16 billion state budget deficit. California once supplied about half of UC's operating budget; today it's closer to 20 percent.

Last week, UC officials announced plans to cut $52 million and more than 400 jobs out of the 1,750-employee UC president's office - cuts Yudof will have to oversee as the new boss.

He also will likely have to preside over other cutbacks and tuition increases system-wide.

Yudof succeeds Robert Dynes, who has been president of the California system since 2003. Three years ago, Dynes became embroiled in controversy over his handling of executive compensation after an audit uncovered millions in questionable and sometimes unreported pay to university employees.

Dynes, 65, makes significantly less than Yudof will. Dynes' annual compensation was about $421,000. He announced last year he wanted to step down to spend more time with his family.

Marye Anne Fox, a former vice president of UT Austin who is now the chancellor of UC San Diego, said in an interview last week that Yudof, a longtime friend and colleague, is more than up to the job.

"He has a lot of energy — and a lot of aspirations," said Fox, who has been mentioned as a potential replacement for Yudof at UT.

"I think he was happy at UT," Fox said. "But the opportunity of addressing a real challenge that could have major repercussions throughout the world of higher education ... I think is attractive to him."

Austin American-Statesman reporter Ralph K.M. Haurwitz contributed to this report.