SACRAMENTO, California — The president of the University of California announced Wednesday that he would step down after five years leading one of the nation’s largest public university systems amid the coronavirus pandemic, strikes and campus protests.
Michael V. Drakethe first Black person to hold the role in the system’s more than 150-year history, said he would step down at the end of the 2024-25 school year, calling it “the honor of a lifetime.”
“I am immensely proud of what the UC community has accomplished,” Drake said in a statement. “At every step, I have sought to listen to those I have served, uphold our shared UC values, and do everything I can to leave this institution in a better state than it was before. I am proud that the university continues to positively impact the lives of countless Californians through research, education, and public service.”
Drake took on the role in July 2020, just months into the pandemic and as racial justice protests erupted across the country following the killing of George Floyd. In the years since, the university system has seen other high-profile demonstrations, including in 2022 when thousands graduate students went on strike for a higher salary and earlier this year when students camps to protest the war in Gaza.
As president, Drake secured a 5 percent annual budget increase for the state for five years to help the university system increase enrollment and make colleges more accessible to underrepresented students. He helped craft plans to reduce tuition increases and offer free college to Native American students who are citizens of federally recognized tribes.
With nearly 300,000 students, the University of California is the second-largest university system in the state, after California State University, which enrolls more than 450,000 students annually.
Before becoming president, Drake spent decades in higher education, serving as chancellor of the University of California, Irvine; leading The Ohio State University; and as president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. He is a physician who trained at the University of California, San Francisco, before becoming a professor of ophthalmology at the university’s medical school.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom praised Drake’s tenure as president, saying he “has led with grace and vision.”
“On behalf of all Californians, I thank President Drake for his leadership, for growing our UC system, and for paving a better path forward for our state,” Newsom said in a statement. “His legacy of service in higher education has undoubtedly helped us grow the next generation of extraordinary leaders in California, and it has been an honor to serve with him.”