Robert D. Grey has been named provost and executive vice chancellor at the University of California, Davis, a position he has held on an interim basis since mid-1993. Grey's appointment, effective immediately, was approved today (Jan. 20) by the UC Board of Regents. As provost and executive vice chancellor, Grey, 55, is the campus's chief academic and budget officer, with special governing responsibility for the UC Davis Medical Center, and acts for the chancellor in his absence. "Bob Grey is basically an academic who has, over the course of his career, agreed to take on administrative tasks on behalf of the faculty and our students," said UC Davis Chancellor Larry N. Vanderhoef. "His experience as a chair, a dean and a change-maker on the Davis campus is very important to all of us, as he has accumulated a keen understanding of the expectations and aspirations of a land-grant university. His insights, as well, into the special challenges facing academic medical centers at a time of major health care reform make him an ideal match for the Davis campus. We are so very fortunate to have him." Grey was selected after a six-month search by a committee of faculty, staff and students that screened more than 85 applicants and nominees from across the nation. "I feel honored to have been selected and will be delighted to serve," said Grey. "I have stayed at UC Davis throughout my career because it was, and continues to be, a wonderful place to serve as a member of the faculty. In my 27 years here, I have grown to care deeply about its welfare. I look forward with pleasure to the challenges of the future." Among those challenges, he says, are aligning financial resources with academic priorities, giving "careful attention to the well-being of the people who work here, who study here and who live here," and helping the campus confront "as a community of colleagues" the fundamental changes occurring in higher education today. Karl M. Romstad, chair of the Academic Senate, praised Grey's "excellent grasp of the complexity of the campus and his effectiveness in achieving broad consensus. He has already developed a productive and cooperative relationship with the Academic Senate as we have worked through a number of difficult issues." A professor of molecular and cellular biology, Grey served as dean of UC Davis' Division of Biological Sciences from 1985 till tapped as interim provost and executive vice chancellor in May 1993. He earlier served as chair and vice chair of the zoology department and as assistant and associate dean of the College of Letters and Science. A member of the UC Davis faculty since 1967, Grey graduated from Phillips University in Oklahoma and received his doctoral degree from Washington University in St. Louis, where he taught and conducted research before coming to Davis. Among Grey's honors are the Distinguished Teaching Award of the Davis Division of the Academic Senate, the Magnar Ronning Award for Teaching Excellence, and a distinguished alumnus award from Phillips University. He is a member of the Society for Developmental Biology, the American Society for Cell Biology, Sigma Xi and Phi Sigma honorary societies, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Advisory Council for the Division of Biological Sciences at Cornell University, and he previously served on the Davis Science Center Board of Directors. He is also a reviewer and editorial consultant for several professional journals and has published extensively in his research area, biology of fertilization and cell biology. -ms- Comments from several search committee members: "Bob's values toward undergraduate education, his commitment to affirmative action and diversity, and his educational philosophy were the clear strengths of his candidacy. This position calls for a mature, pragmatic visionary who must continually earn the respect of and be accountable to the diverse constituencies it serves. Bob clearly has demonstrated tremendous administrative leadership in these areas. I also was particularly impressed with how he steered the Phase III [budget-cutting] implementation process with a great deal of integrity, civility and zeal." -- Francisco Rodriguez, director of the Cross-Cultural Center "Dr. Grey has the knowledge, experience and leadership skills to continue to do an excellent job as provost and executive vice chancellor. He has spent considerable time at the medical center and medical school and offered the search committee the most insightful and substantive summary of the problems facing the academic health center and medical school in this era of health care reform. He's held in the highest esteem by my medical colleagues as well as others on campus." -- Klea Bertakis, professor and acting chair of the Department of Family Practice "Dr. Grey is well versed in the concerns and needs of graduate students, a necessary trait during these difficult times. We at the Graduate Student Association have always found him to be a fair and thoughtful man, and we look forward to working together to better define the role of graduate education and of graduate students on the Davis campus." -- Bennett Corrado, chair of the Graduate Student Association "Dr. Grey has shown a tremendous amount of commitment to UC Davis, and has earned the respect of our campus community. His honesty and thoughtfulness, combined with his strong working knowledge of our campus, will serve students well." -- Aparna Shah, senior, biological sciences "Bob Grey recognizes the points at which the academic programs and the administrative and operational functions must intersect to ensure continued academic excellence. He has worked very hard to understand the many issues that face the administrative units as they are evolving to serve the campus more effectively in this new era. I particularly respect his strong commitment to building our sense of community and his appreciation for the diversity our campus enjoys." -- Janet Hamilton, vice chancellor for administration "I think Professor Grey was clearly the best of the finalists whom we interviewed. He evinced an inclusive and pro-active future for the campus, and a preparedness to exercise knowledgeable and sensitive leadership as Davis revitalizes." -- John Stewart, director of African American and African Studies "I am very pleased for Bob and the campus at large. He has been very successful while serving as the acting provost and executive vice chancellor and led the campus through difficult times. His leadership skills, sensitivity, and communication during this period were strongly evident and appreciated. The campus is fortunate to have Bob Grey in a position to assist in leading it into the future." -- Pamela Gill-Fisher, associate athletic director