Tuesday, April 24, 2001
University of California Office of the President

Media Contacts:
Trey Davis
(510) 987-0056
trey.davis@ucop.edu

Michael Reese
(510)987-9179
Michael.Reese@ucop.edu

UC Irvine Vice Chancellor Manuel Gómez Named Interim UC Vice President for Educational Outreach

University of California President Richard C. Atkinson today (Tuesday, April 24) named UC Irvine vice chancellor for student affairs Manuel N. Gómez to serve as interim vice president for educational outreach.

Gómez, who will assume his new responsibilities on May 14, has agreed to serve six months, by which time Atkinson will appoint a permanent successor. To that end, Atkinson also announced today that he would immediately appoint a search committee to find qualified candidates for the critical systemwide post.

As interim systemwide vice president, Gómez will oversee a complex and far-reaching educational outreach effort by the University of California designed to prepare larger numbers of students for admission to the university. The systemwide outreach office also coordinates the university’s efforts to work with K-12 educators and other segments of higher education across the state to improve teacher quality and student performance. “Dr. Gómez is the ideal person to lead the university’s outreach initiatives over the next several months,” Atkinson said. “He is a strong administrator and innovator with a proven track record of success at UC Irvine. He believes, as I do, in the importance of UC’s commitment to reach out across the state to improve teacher quality and to increase educational opportunities for students from all backgrounds.”

Gómez replaces Alex M. Saragoza, who resigned earlier today after 10 months in the post. Gómez, who holds a doctorate from the University of Southern California in educational policy and research, joined the University of California in 1972. He then worked for the U.S. Department of Education from 1979-81 before returning to UC Irvine as director of the Educational Opportunity Program. In 1995, Gomez was named interim vice chancellor for student services, an appointment that was made permanent in 1997.

Under Gómez, UC Irvine’s outreach and admissions efforts are considered among the most innovative and successful in the UC system. Gómez is particularly known for his work to strengthen ties with community colleges throughout the state. That effort this year resulted in a 15-percent increase in transfer applications to UC Irvine. (Transfer admissions will not be complete until later this month).

Besides the transfer initiatives, Gómez is credited with helping UC Irvine to establish the Center for Educational Partnerships, a comprehensive strategy designed to improve the academic performance of students in participating underperforming schools surrounding the Irvine campus.

For the last 10 years, Gómez has also administered the systemwide California Alliances for Minority Participation. Under the National Science Foundation-funded grant program, one of only 30 in the nation, faculty members provide mentorships and laboratory research experiences to undergraduate students. It is regarded as a model for engaging faculty to work directly with underrepresented minority students.

Gómez pledged as interim vice president that he would focus on strategic initiatives that hold the university accountable for its outreach efforts. “We need to develop a comprehensive and effective strategy to put the campuses on a track that will produce results,” he said.

# # #