Nicholas Dirks Resigns as Chancellor of University of California, Berkeley

By CHRISTOPHER MELE

The chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, announced his resignation on Tuesday amid criticism over how he had handled sexual harassment cases involving high-profile faculty members and the university’s budget.

The chancellor, Nicholas B. Dirks, said in a statement on the school’s website, “I have come to the personal decision that the time is right for me to step aside and allow someone else to take up the financial and institutional challenges ahead of us.”

Janet Napolitano, the president of the University of California, said in a statement that Mr. Dirks, who had been in the position since June 2013, planned to remain in the post until a successor was in place. A committee will begin a global search for a new chancellor, she said.

In his statement, Mr. Dirks, who is paid about $532,000 a year, outlined a series of achievements, including initiatives in data science, alliances for research and record-setting fund-raising for the last two years of $462 million and $479 million.

His administration has been troubled, however, by certain financial and administrative decisions.

In one case, the law school dean received only a temporary pay cut and orders to undergo counseling after an investigation that supported claims he had repeatedly kissed and touched a subordinate. He has since resigned.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that a security fence built around the chancellor’s campus residence had ballooned into a $700,000 project, and a whistle-blower complained that Mr. Dirks and his wife had free use of a personal trainer, which led to the trainer being placed on paid administrative leave.

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[Source]: New York Times