The University of California Board of Regents today (Nov. 27) approved the appointment of Jane Close Conoley, dean of UC Santa Barbara's Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, as acting chancellor of UC Riverside.
Dean Conoley will begin serving as acting chancellor on Dec. 31, the day after Chancellor Timothy White steps down to lead the California State University system as its chancellor.
"Jane Close Conoley has long been a nationally recognized education expert, and she is a treasured member of the UC community," UC President Mark G. Yudof said. "With her serving in this interim role, I am confident that the Riverside campus will keep moving forward on several fronts, especially student success."
Conoley, 65, a professor of counseling, clinical and school psychology at the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, became dean in January 2006 after serving for 10 years as dean of the College of Education and Human Development at Texas A&M University, where she was a professor of educational psychology. She expects to return to her position as dean of the Gevirtz School at the conclusion of her appointment at Riverside.
The author or editor of 21 books, Conoley was the Edith S. Greer Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1996; she had chaired the Department of Educational Psychology from 1989–94 and served as associate dean for research and curriculum at the university's Teachers College from 1994–96. She also taught educational psychology as a faculty member at Syracuse University and Texas Woman's University between 1976 and 1996.
The regents approved an annual salary of $245,600, funded by state and other sources, for the duration of the appointment. Conoley also will receive an annual auto allowance of $8,916, and a university-provided house on campus, as has Chancellor White, whose annual salary at UC Riverside is $325,000. While her appointment does not officially begin until Dec. 31, the new salary will take effect immediately, in recognition of the fact that she plans to spend most of the next month on transition activities.