One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
University of California president Michael Drake to step down
UC President Michael Drake will step down at the end of the 2024-25 school year.
(
Kirk Irwin
/
Getty Images
)
Topline:
University of California President Michael Drake announced Wednesday he will step down in June 2025 after five years leading the state's prestigious university system.
What did he accomplish? Drake started as UC president in July 2020, and was charged with leading the UC system through the pandemic. Over five years he faced a host of other challenges, including tight budgets, the enrollment of more California students, multiple strikes by academic workers, and how UC schools responded to student protests over policing and the war in Gaza.
About Drake: He previously served four decades in the UC system and then as president of Ohio State University. In a statement, Drake wrote that “it’s been an honor of a lifetime."
What's next? For the system, the UC Board of Regents will soon launch a national search for their next president. For Drake, it's not a retirement: The professor of ophthalmology will return to the faculty ranks following a break. A UC spokesperson told LAist that there's no information available about Drake's ultimate landing spot.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
