Janet Gilmore, UC Berkeley
UC President Janet Napolitano has been appointed to the faculty of UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy, Dean Henry Brady announced today (Dec. 18).
Chancellor Nicholas Dirks approved the appointment of Napolitano to the tenured position, following the standard faculty and administrative review process. The position will provide no compensation while she is serving as UC president.
Presidents of the 10-campus UC system typically receive a faculty appointment.
“One of the hallmarks of top-ranked public-policy schools is that they not only have world-class academic scholars who develop the scientific basis for new public policies, but they also have faculty members who have made major impacts on public policy through their innovative work,” Brady said. “These leaders have formulated new policy ideas, developed new public-sector organizations and implemented programs to advance these policies.”
Brady noted that Napolitano “has done all of these things successfully in high-profile, demanding positions.”
Napolitano has a lengthy record in public service. She served as U.S. attorney in Arizona before being elected Arizona’s first female attorney general, and she was the twice-elected governor of Arizona when she joined President Barack Obama’s Cabinet as the third secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. She began serving as the 20th president of the UC system on Sept. 30, 2013.
As the first woman to chair the National Governors Association, Napolitano launched the “Innovation America” initiative to align K-12 and higher-education curricula. At the Department of Homeland Security, she strengthened outreach efforts to academic institutions through the establishment of the Office of Academic Engagement, and she created the Homeland Security Academic Advisory Council, involving leadership from more than 20 universities and colleges around the country.
“I am honored and privileged to become a faculty member of UC Berkeley’s Goldman School, and I hope to participate in the future in educating the next generation of public-service leaders,” Napolitano said.
