Home > Activist's Toolkit > University Governance

University Governance

Governance of the University is shared by The Regents, the President and his administration, the Chancellors and their administrations, and the faculty through the Academic Senate. Each of these partners in governance has broad areas of authority and responsibility as provided in the Bylaws and Standing Orders of The Regents.

The Regents

The University of California is governed by The Regents, a 26-member board, as established under Article IX, Section 9 of the California Constitution. The current Chair is Gerald Parsky. For more information, click here.

The President

Appointed by and directly responsible to The Regents, the President is the University’s chief executive. All other officers of the University, except the Principal Officers of the Regents, are responsible to the President. The current President is Robert Dynes. For more information, click here.

The Chancellors

Chancellors, to whom broad powers are delegated, are the executive heads of all campus activities. Chancellors are responsible for the organization and operation of their respective campuses, including academic, student, staff and business affairs; and for discipline within them. Decisions made by Chancellors within the provisions of budgetary allocations for their campuses and the provisions of policies established by the Regents are final.

Each Chancellor is assisted by various administrative officers – Vice Chancellors, Deans, Provost, Department Chairs, and Directors of Organized Research Units. For more information, click here.

The Universitywide Academic Senate

The Assembly represents the Senate faculty of the entire University. Assembly members include the chairs of the nine divisions, chairs of major Universitywide Senate committees, and 35 faculty representatives.

The Academic Council acts as the executive arm of the Assembly. Members are chairs of campus divisions and chairs of major Universitywide Senate committees. The Chair and Vice Chair of the Academic Council are the official faculty representatives to the Board of Regents. The current Chair is George Blumenthal and the current Vice Chair is Cliff Brunk. For more information, click here.