University of California President Michael V. Drake, M.D., has awarded the UC Presidential Medal to UC Santa Barbara Chancellor Henry T. Yang, in recognition of Yang’s tremendous impact on the growth and stature of the campus he has led for three decades.
Yang, the longest-serving chancellor in UC history, announced in August that he would step down from his role at the end of this academic year and return to research and teaching.
In awarding the University’s highest honor during an April 1 event, Drake cited Yang’s extraordinary contributions as a leader, researcher and educator.
“Henry is a leader of the Santa Barbara community, a giant in his field, and an embodiment of the University’s mission,” Drake said. “Through the decades, he has been an exemplary leader for a generation of students, faculty, and staff at UC Santa Barbara.”
Yang was named UC Santa Barbara’s fifth chancellor in 1994, following 25 years at Purdue University, including a decade as the university’s dean of engineering. He was named the Neil A. Armstrong Distinguished Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 1988, which was not to be his last connection to the famous astronaut, as Drake noted.
“Early in his career, Henry established himself as a leader in mechanical engineering — so it’s no surprise that when he became chancellor at UC Santa Barbara, Neil Armstrong himself was on hand dressed in cap and gown to congratulate him,” President Drake said.
Under Yang’s leadership, UC Santa Barbara has become widely acknowledged as one of the best public universities in the country, regularly earning top marks from U.S. News and World Report, the Princeton Review, and other outlets. Last fall, Forbes ranked UC Santa Barbara as the 8th best public university in the nation, calling it “the cream of the crop for producing successful, high-earning and influential graduates from all economic backgrounds.”
Chancellor Yang at commencement.
Under Yang, UC Santa Barbara has also exemplified the ideal of inclusive excellence, Drake noted, with the campus becoming the first member of the prestigious Association of American Universities to be recognized as a Hispanic-Serving Institution.
The campus is a magnet for top-tier academic talent, boasting 34 faculty members of the National Academy of Engineering (among them Yang himself) and 56 faculty among the membership of the Academy of Arts and Sciences. It is also home to The Koegel Autism Center at UC Santa Barbara’s Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, one of the top 10 state-of-the-art treatment centers for autism in the United States, and The California NanoSystems Institute, which leverages world-class expertise in nanosystems-related research and state-of-the-art research facilities to address critical needs for California.
Chancellor Yang’s influence has extended beyond UC Santa Barbara and its campus: He has served on the scientific advisory boards for the Department of Defense, United States Air Force, United States Navy, NASA, and the National Academy of Engineering. He served on the President's Committee for the National Medal of Science under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and is the current chairman of the Thirty Meter Telescope project.
Over the decades Yang has remained a leader in the field of mechanical engineering, too, as a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the American Society for Engineering Education, and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
Yang has been awarded numerous recognitions for his research, teaching, and public service in engineering, including the Benjamin Garver Lamme Medal from the American Society of Engineering Education; the Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics; and eight honorary doctorates. In 2016 he received the National Academy of Engineering’s Arthur M. Bueche Award.
“Henry is an educator through and through,” Drake said. “While leading the campus to achieve greater stature, he has continued to teach undergraduate students, mentor graduate students, and retain a focus on research. Even as Chancellor, Henry continued teaching undergraduate courses. He even received an honorary distinguished teaching award from UC Santa Barbara’s Academic Senate.”
