Regents approve chancellor terms of appointment

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SACRAMENTO — The University of California Board of Regents today (May 16) approved the terms of UC President Mark G. Yudof's appointment of Pradeep K. Khosla as the eighth chancellor of the University of California, San Diego.

Pradeep K. Khosla High resolution photo

Khosla, 55, dean of Carnegie Mellon University's acclaimed College of Engineering, also known as the Carnegie Institute of Technology, will succeed Marye Anne Fox on Aug. 1. Fox, who became chancellor in July 2004, announced last summer that she will step down from the position.

"The San Diego community and people throughout the state, as well as the campus, will be the beneficiaries of this appointment," Yudof said. "With his transformative vision, passion and imagination, Pradeep Khosla will build on the accomplishments of Chancellor Fox and her predecessors. He will elevate what already is a world-class university to new heights of excellence in teaching, research and community service."

Under Fox's leadership, UC San Diego has expanded its impact and reach. Ranked as the eighth best public university in the nation by U.S. News and World Report, it was rated first in the nation by the Washington Monthly's 2011 College Guide, based on its record of providing economic mobility to its graduates. With 28,000 employees, the campus is the largest San Diego-based employer in the region. By diversifying its funding sources, the campus has maintained its preeminent level of teaching, research, public service and patient care.

Khosla's annual salary will be $411,084, substantially less than his annual pay at Carnegie Mellon. This places him 52nd among the 61 members of the prestigious American Association of Universities (AAU), based on 2009-10 data. Founded in 1900, the AAU is an association of 59 U.S. and two Canadian public and private research universities.

Chancellor-designate Khosla's salary will be 4.8 percent more than Chancellor Fox's annual pay of $392,200, which has not been increased in nearly five years. The difference between the two salaries will be funded entirely from non-state sources under the terms approved by the regents. Like Fox, Khosla will receive an annual auto allowance of $8,916. Consistent with past practice, the university will provide him with a house near campus that is suitable for his duties, including fundraising, while the campus University House is being renovated. His housing will be covered by non-state funds.

"UC San Diego is an extraordinarily vibrant, complex institution that not only educates, but also conducts groundbreaking research, delivers health care, creates industries and drives a regional economy," said Yudof. "We need strong leadership to maintain its excellence and public service, and we're fortunate that Pradeep Khosla will steer this great institution, especially during these challenging times."

UC San Diego contributes more than $20 billion in economic impact to the region. Alumni, faculty and staff operate more than 150 companies that employ more than 18,000 people and have annual revenues exceeding $15.3 billion.

In addition to moving costs, Khosla will receive a one-time relocation allowance to be paid in four equal annual installments of $25,693. The allowance, under UC policy, is intended to offset costs associated with relocating his family from Pittsburgh. If he were to leave the university before the end of the four-year period, he would forfeit any remaining payments.

Khosla and his wife, Thespine, have three children, Nathan, 21, Alex, 14, and Nina, 11.

Born in India and raised in Bombay (now Mumbai), he emerged as the top candidate after an international search that began last October when Yudof named an advisory committee of university faculty, staff, students, alumni and foundation representatives. Board of Regents Chair Sherry Lansing, an ex officio member of the committee, appointed five regents to serve.

Elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 2006, Khosla is the recipient of several international awards, including the ASEE George Westinghouse award for Education (1999), the IEEE Wallace McDowell award (2001) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Computers in Engineering Lifetime Achievement Award (2009). He is the author of three books and hundreds of scholarly articles.

Dean Khosla, also the Philip and Marsha Dowd University Professor at Carnegie Mellon, has initiated undergraduate curriculum reform, successful diversity efforts, multidisciplinary and multi-college research centers, multidisciplinary graduate offerings and international programs in Japan, Korea, Portugal, China and Rwanda. Under his leadership, the College of Engineering has significantly increased the number of women and students of color in its graduate programs.

Carnegie Mellon's College of Engineering was ranked sixth nationally by U.S. News and World Report in 2011 and 12th internationally by the 2011-12 Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

Khosla has played a leadership role at Carnegie Mellon in raising funds from industry, federal and state government, foundations and alumni — including fundraising campaigns for a $100 million, universitywide energy institute and a $90 million, 100,000-square-foot College of Engineering building for biotechnology, energy and nanotechnology.

He serves on the boards of several nonprofit organizations, including The Children's Institute, IIT Foundation, Mellon-Pitt Corp. and the Pittsburgh Technology Council. He has served on the advisory boards of several universities and is the Chair of the Jury for the prestigious Infosys Foundation Prize in Engineering and Computer Science.

Khosla earned his MS and Ph.D. degrees in electrical and computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon in 1984 and 1986 after graduating from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1980 and working for two years in India as an engineer. During his time at Carnegie Mellon, in addition to teaching, writing and undertaking research, he served as head of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, director of the Information Networking Institute and founding director of the Carnegie Mellon CyLab and the Institute for Complex Engineered Systems.

"Pradeep Khosla is an excellent choice for the next chancellor of UC San Diego," said Carnegie Mellon President Jared L. Cohon. "As dean of CMU's college of engineering, Dr. Khosla has been a dynamic leader who enhanced our undergraduate curriculum, led in the creation of international programs in five different countries, initiated successful diversity efforts and directed the college through a time of significant growth in sponsored research. We are very proud that one of our colleagues and distinguished alumni has been chosen to lead such an important university and wish him all the best in his new position."