Chancellor Kim A. Wilcox announced on Thursday, Sept. 19, that he plans to retire in the summer of 2025 after leading the University of California, Riverside (UCR) for 12 years — the second-longest serving chancellor in the university’s history.
In a message to the campus community, Chancellor Wilcox said that he will “miss the daily interactions on campus” but believes “it is time for the next chancellor to have the honor to lead the campus.”
Appointed the ninth UCR chancellor in 2013, Chancellor Wilcox’s leadership brought many research and academic feats, such as increased student enrollment and faculty positions, receipt of more than $200 million in research funding and the addition of “2.4 million square feet of new buildings,” including the School of Public Policy, the School of Medicine II and the new business building.
In his retirement message to the campus community, Chancellor Wilcox stated that UC President Michael V. Drake and the Board of Regents are planning to “initiate the search for my successor in the coming weeks” and will facilitate a committee for appointing the next chancellor.
The Highlander Editorial Board strongly believes student voices and input must be part of the selection process of the new campus leader, who will focus on addressing the needs and interests of the UCR community.
While UCR’s research and science-based program funding has increased significantly in the past decade, making it a top research institution, many non-STEM programs do not receive level funding.
According to a 2022-2023 financial report, the School of Education and the School of Public Policy, for example, receive the least funding from the total core budget, at $11,194,062 and $6,556,319, respectively. Moreover, the largest college at UCR, the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (CHASS), receives $100,535,067 of the total core budget compared to the College of Natural Agriculture Sciences (CNAS) which receives the most funding at $119,742,305. To put this into perspective, CHASS has 60 majors and over 10,000 students, while CNAS has 17 majors and approximately 7,000 students.
Although STEM-related programs require expensive specialized equipment, high faculty salaries and intensive lab research funding, non-STEM majors deserve equitable funding for their academic services and research opportunities. The next chancellor should champion equitably funding all majors to grow different academic programs and support all students’ success in their field of interest at UCR.
Building more affordable student housing must be another priority for the next chancellor. The North District Phase 2 project, UCR’s most recent housing initiative, will add 1,568 much-needed beds for UCR and Riverside Community College (RCC) students to facilitate the transfer pipeline to campus. However, North District is the most expensive on-campus housing option and is unaffordable for many students, who must scramble to find other, more affordable off-campus housing options. The next chancellor should seek to build more affordable housing options, while also expanding and improving the conditions of existing affordable housing apartments, like Bannockburn and Falkirk.
Additionally, the next chancellor should continue to have open dialogue and communication with student advocacy groups. The 2023-2024 academic year at UCR saw many student protests for social justice issues, including most notably, the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) on campus encampments to stand in solidarity with Palestinians, call for a ceasefire agreement and push the university administration to divest from companies doing business with Israel. Unlike other UC campuses, the UCR administration peacefully responded to the protests and negotiated the first successful administration-student agreement in the UC system.
However, with UC’s new free speech policy, protesting on campus may become more difficult for students, limiting their ability to advocate for issues they care about. Therefore, it is more important than ever that the next chancellor build relationships with student advocacy groups and directly communicate with them to ensure their freedom of expression and protest is not limited or curtailed.
In addition to focusing on these general student needs and interests, the next chancellor should strongly desire to serve UCR’s unique community. This requires an understanding and appreciation of the Inland Empire and the region’s student population.
Recently ranked the #1 university in the nation for social mobility, UCR is a minority and low-income-serving institution. Approximately half of the students identify as Hispanic or Latino, and “87% of UCR’s undergraduates receive financial aid.” The Inland Empire is also one of the fastest growing areas in California, and it has a very diverse population. Thus, the next chancellor must work with local leaders to uplift underrepresented communities and serve the Inland Empire through their unique position at UCR.
New leadership provides an opportunity for a fresh perspective, different ideas and a new vision for UCR. However, for students to support the next chancellor, their voices and concerns about campus issues must be central to the selection of the next campus leader.
After all, the chancellor is serving the students and campus community.
