University of California at Santa Cruz Chancellor George Blumenthal will retire at the end of the current academic year, UC President Janet Napolitano announced on Sept. 19.
Blumenthal has served as chancellor at the UC Santa Cruz campus for more than 12 years. As the school’s 10th chancellor, Blumenthal expanded opportunities and access for underrepresented and low-income students, UC officials said.
He came to the Santa Cruz campus in 1972 as a faculty member in astronomy and astrophysics and has served the UC system as chair of the UC Academic Senate and as a faculty representative to the UC Board of Regents.
“In all his endeavors at the university, he has demonstrated his sharp intellect, deep engagement, curiosity and wit,” Napolitano said in a statement.
Napolitano plans on convening a committee in the coming weeks to conduct a national search to find a new chancellor for the Santa Cruz campus.
