University of California, San Francisco

The search for the new UCSF chancellor

HISTORY OF UCSF CHANCELLORS

John B. de C. M. Saunders, MD Chancellor from 1964 to 1966

John B. de C. M. Saunders, MD, UCSF’s first chancellor, was instrumental in transforming a prominent local institution into a world-renowned medical center. He came to UCSF as an anatomy professor in 1931 and served as chair of the department from 1938 to 1956. Saunders also served as chair of the History of the Health Sciences department, dean of the UCSF School of Medicine, University librarian and as the first UCSF provost. He continued teaching and advising after his chancellorship.

Saunders was a member of the San Francisco Medical Society for 52 years and served on the California Medical Association Scientific Board. He authored more than 120 scientific publications on anatomy, surgery, orthopedics and medical history, and won numerous awards for his research, which included studies of the embryology and development of bones, the physiology of muscles and the mechanics of movement. Saunders published several papers and books focusing on the anatomist and physician Andreas Vesalius and Leonardo da Vinci’s drawings of the human body.

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Willard C. Fleming, DDS Chancellor from 1966 to 1969

Willard C. Fleming, DDS, was already past retirement age when he was offered the chancellorship, and he agreed to take the post until a younger successor could be found. At the time, he was the only university chancellor in the nation who was a dentist. Fleming was responsible for establishing the first formal affirmative action program for the campus, making UCSF a national leader in equal access to education in the health professions. He was one of the prime movers in the 1920s to develop long-range planning for a student activity center on campus, which opened in 1958 as the Guy S. Millberry Union.

A national figure in dental education, Fleming was president of the American Association of Dental Schools and the American College of Dentists, and held several honorary degrees. Much of his research and teaching was in the field of periodontology, the study of gum tissue disease. He served for 26 years as dean of the UCSF School of Dentistry and held virtually every senior administrative post on campus during his tenure at UCSF, including a stint as the University’s first vice provost.

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Philip R. Lee, MD Chancellor from 1969 to 1972

Philip R. Lee, MD, led the campus during a time of political and social turmoil, but his understanding of social forces and his close relationships to students and staff allowed UCSF to continue its commitment to academic excellence and affirmative action. Lee retired from his chancellorship to create the UCSF Institute for Health Policy Studies – the first of its kind in the United States – which is now named after him. While at UCSF, he served as professor of medicine at the UCSF School of Medicine and as co-director of the Institute for Health & Aging at the UCSF School of Nursing.

Lee has worked to improve health on a national and global scale, having served as assistant secretary for health in two presidential administrations – from 1965 to 1969 and again from 1993 to 1997. He also served as director of health services of the US Agency for International Development; as the inaugural chairman of the Physician Payment Review Commission established by the US Congress; and as the first president of the Health Commission of the city and county of San Francisco. Lee, professor of medicine emeritus, currently serves as special assistant to the dean of the School of Medicine.

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Francis A. Sooy, MD Chancellor from 1972 to 1982

Francis A. Sooy, MD, served during a time of physical transformation at UCSF, including completion of the new UCSF School of Dentistry building, the new Long Hospital and the modernized Moffitt Hospital projects. Sooy recruited outstanding physicians and researchers for some of the top campus positions, including three new deans. He also helped to mend UCSF’s relationship with the surrounding community and to foster a sense of pride and participation in UCSF among neighbors.

Sooy spent 50 years of his life associated with the University of California, starting as an undergraduate at UC Berkeley in 1933, receiving his graduate degree in medicine from UCSF and later becoming chair of the Department of Otolaryngology. He also was head of the statewide Academic Senate from 1969 to 1970. After his service as chancellor, Sooy returned to private practice and reassumed his teaching responsibilities at UCSF.

Julius R. Krevans, MD Chancellor from 1982 to 1993

Julius R. Krevans, MD, saw UCSF achieve numerous milestones during his tenure as chancellor, including the selection in 1989 of the University’s first Nobel Prize winners: J. Michael Bishop, MD, who became chancellor in 1998, and Harold Varmus, MD, now president of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and co-chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Under Krevans’ leadership, UCSF attracted many women and underepresented students to careers in health sciences, and helped give rise to the biotechnology industry, an area in which UCSF remains a world leader.

Before his appointment as chancellor, Krevans served as dean of the UCSF School of Medicine from 1971 to 1982. He was also active on the boards and committees of numerous national foundations and government agencies, and served as chair of the Association of American Medical Colleges from 1980 to 1981. He currently serves on the Advisory Board of the UCSF-affiliated J. David Gladstone Institutes.

Joseph B. Martin, MD, PhD Chancellor from 1993 to 1997

Joseph B. Martin, MD, PhD, played a major role in the creation of the UCSF-affiliated Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology, and in the planning of the thriving UCSF Mission Bay campus. Martin was among the leaders in 1997 to establish UCSF Stanford Health Care, a merged clinical enterprise of the two academic medical centers that ended in 2000. Martin was successful in gaining critical community support for the University and received the UCSF Medal in 1998 for his outstanding achievements.

Before his appointment as chancellor, Martin served as dean of the UCSF School of Medicine from 1989 to 1993, and he is credited with recruiting a number of distinguished physicians and scientists to the University. He held an appointment as professor of neurology and is internationally recognized for his work in neurology and neuroscience, including his research into the use of molecular genetics to better understand the causes of neurological diseases. From 1997 to 2007, Martin served as dean of Harvard Medical School, where he remains a professor of neurobiology.

Haile T. Debas, MD Chancellor from 1997 to 1998

Haile T. Debas, MD, an internationally renowned surgeon, scientist and teacher, agreed to accept the chancellorship for a period of one year. Serving as both chancellor and dean of the School of Medicine, he played a key role in the development of UCSF Stanford Health Care, a new UCSF campus at Mission Bay and the cancer center now called the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. During his tenure, UCSF solidified its place as a national leader in transplant surgery, the training of young surgeons, and basic and clinical research in surgery.

Debas served as chair of the UCSF Department of Surgery from 1987 until his appointment as medical school dean in 1993. His other major initiatives include development of the UCSF AIDS Research Institute, a redesign of the UCSF Program in Human Genetics and important changes in the medical school curriculum. Debas received the 2004 Abraham Flexner Award from the Association of American Medical Colleges, and is one of the few surgeons to be elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is also a member of the prestigious Institute of Medicine.

Debas currently serves as executive director of UCSF Global Health Sciences, and is leading an initiative to create a University of California School of Global Health.

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J. Michael Bishop, MD Chancellor from 1998 to 2009

J. Michael “Mike” Bishop, MD, steered UCSF through one of its most expansive periods of growth and achievement, which included development – from the ground up – of a biomedical teaching and research campus at Mission Bay; establishment of innovative research programs; and record philanthropic support. He presided over the creation of the University’s first comprehensive campuswide strategic plan, which includes a set of seven strategic directions with the overarching mission of advancing health worldwide™.

Bishop began his career at UCSF as an assistant professor of microbiology and immunology, and in the 1970s he led development of the Program in Biological Sciences, which established a single, interdisciplinary doctoral and postdoctoral program that spanned UCSF departments. In 1989, Bishop and Harold Varmus, MD, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine – a first for UCSF – for their discovery of proto-oncogenes, normal genes that can be converted to cancer genes by genetic damage.

Bishop was a 2003 recipient of the National Medal of Science and has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2008, he was named a member of the Royal Society, the United Kingdom’s national academy of science.

Bishop continues to serve as a professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. He is director of the G. W. Hooper Foundation and of the Program in Biological Sciences, which is an effort to unify graduate education at UCSF.

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