UC President Drake announces plans to step down at end of academic year

University of California President Dr. Michael V. Drake announced Wednesday that he's stepping down from his post after the 2024-25 academic year following a challenging five-year tenure.

Drake has been president since July 2020, starting during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. That was the first of several challenges he faced, including recent protests over the Israel-Hamas war.

"It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as president of the University of California these past several years, and I am immensely proud of what the UC community has accomplished," Drake said in a statement. 

Before taking over the role as the 21st UC president, Drake served as Ohio State University president for six years. Drake also served as chancellor of UC Irvine for nine years.

Drake, 74, was born in New York City and raised in New Jersey and Sacramento. He attended Stanford University before moving to UC San Francisco for medical school.

Drake's time as UC president was marked with high-profile events and challenges, including responding to the COVID pandemic, and calls for defunding of campus law enforcement following protests over the death of George Floyd in Minnesota. Most recently protests broke out across campuses over the Israel-Hamas war and demands the system divest from Israel.

"One of the president's core priorities has been creating a safe and respectful community that fosters a free exchange of ideas," according to a statement from Drake's office. "He led a comprehensive, systemwide effort with key stakeholders across the University to reimagine public safety and launch a Systemwide Office of Civil Rights to help ensure that every member of the UC community feels safe and respected."

According to the UC, some of Drake's notable accomplishments have been strengthening relations with Gov. Gavin Newsom, developing a systemwide Tuition Stability Plan and creating the UC Native American Opportunity Plan.

"On behalf of all Californians, I thank President Drake for his leadership, for growing our UC system, and for paving a brighter path forward for our state," Gov. Newsom said in a statement.

The UC Board of Regents will establish a committee to search for Drake's successor. The committee will include students, faculty, staff, and alumni representatives, according to the UC.