February 12, 2002
Contact: Elizabeth M. Irwin (831/459-2495)
UCSC professor/UC Silicon Valley Center leader named provost at University of
Illinois at Chicago
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Robert C. Miller appointed to fill position of interim director for UC Silicon
Valley Center
SANTA CRUZ, CA--UC Santa Cruz professor and academic administrator R. Michael
Tanner has accepted a position as provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs
at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), effective July 1, 2002. The appointment
was announced today (February 12) by UIC Chancellor Sylvia Manning, following approval
by the executive committee of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. The position
is the chief academic officer and chief budget officer for UIC. (See UIC press
release.)
Currently, Tanner is professor of computer science and interim director of the UC
Silicon Valley Center. UCSC's Vice Chancellor for Research Robert C. Miller, who
brings extensive international experience in issues of intellectual property and
technology transfer, will assume responsibilities for leading the UC Silicon Valley
Center during an interim period.
"This news generates mixed emotions," commented UC Santa Cruz Chancellor
M.R.C. Greenwood. "I congratulate Michael on a wonderful career opportunity,
one for which he is eminently well qualified. However, it is a bittersweet moment,
because the campus will lose the benefit of his excellent administrative acumen and
intellectual leadership--and I will miss working with him as a close colleague and
friend."
Tanner leaves UC Santa Cruz after a distinguished career spanning more than 30 years.
He arrived at the campus in 1971, as an assistant professor, having graduated from
Stanford University, where he earned bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in
electrical engineering.
In addition to teaching and research responsibilities, Tanner has held several key
administrative posts over the years. From 1981 to 1988, he served as chair of the
Department of Computer and Information Sciences. In 1988, he was acting dean of the
Natural Sciences Division. In 1989, he became the campus's academic vice chancellor,
and in 1992, he was appointed as executive vice chancellor, a position he held until
1998. Tanner was appointed interim director of the UC Silicon Valley Center in August
2000.
"I feel privileged to have had a long and varied career at this innovative and
remarkable UC campus," Tanner notes. "At UC Santa Cruz I have enjoyed the
company of exceptional colleagues and stimulating projects for more than three decades.
Now, I am eager to tackle the new challenges and meet the wider responsibilities
that the University of Illinois at Chicago offers."
Recognition of Tanner's achievements at UCSC was underscored by Jorge Hankamer, UCSC
professor of linguistics and a former dean of humanities, who served in administrative
positions that worked closely with Tanner. "Michael provided exemplary leadership
during a critical time in the development of the campus," he said. "During
his tenure as executive vice chancellor, he guided us through the growth pains of
the '90s, despite severe budgetary constraints, and he engineered an orderly transition
from a heavily centralized administration to a more distributed and effective one.
This shift, which gave divisions and departments greater autonomy and responsibility,
was arguably the most significant change in campus operations since its beginning."
At UIC, working with the vice chancellors for administration, health affairs, student
affairs and research, the provost plays a major leadership role in advancing the
programs of instruction, research, and service. All the deans, including the deans
of the six health sciences colleges, as well as the university librarian and the
chief information officer, report to the provost.
"Michael Tanner's depth and breadth of experience in teaching, research, and
administration make him the perfect choice to become UIC's new provost," UIC
Chancellor Manning said. "He has excelled throughout his career as a scholar
and as an academic leader."
The University of Illinois at Chicago is a public research university with an annual
budget of $1.171 billion and approximately 12,000 faculty and staff. Total enrollment
in fall 2001 was 24,530. UIC has 15 academic colleges, including colleges of medicine,
dentistry, engineering, liberal arts and sciences, and business administration.
Tanner's research interests include coding and information theory, computer simulation
models, educational uses of information technology, and intellectual property. He
holds four patents and is a fellow of the California Council on Science and Technology
and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
_____
Editor's Note: Reporters may contact the University of Illinois at Chicago through
Mark Rosati, (312) 996-5546. To arrange interviews with Michael Tanner or new interim
director of the UC Silicon Valley Center, Robert C. Miller, contact Elizabeth Irwin,
(831) 459-2495.
Photos of Tanner and Miller are available at www.ucsc.edu/news_events/download.
#####
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