Quick Take
University of California President James Milliken has launched a standard five-year performance review of UC Santa Cruz Chancellor Cynthia Larive, marking her first formal evaluation since her 2019 appointment. The confidential review — delayed by the pandemic — will assess Larive’s six-year tenure through faculty input and is expected to conclude by February.
University of California President James Milliken has initiated UC Santa Cruz Chancellor Cynthia Larive’s regular five-year performance review and it’s expected to last through February, UC officials confirmed.
Stewardship reviews, which are conducted by faculty, are standard and supplemental to the president’s annual reviews of chancellors.
This is Larive’s first review since being appointed to the position in September 2019. It will include all six years of Larive’s tenure after the UC Office of the President fell behind on reviews “due to the pandemic,” UC Office of the President spokesperson Stett Holbrook told Lookout.
The assessment includes a chancellor self-evaluation and review committee report summarizing letters from, and potentially interviews with, faculty. Once the report is completed and submitted to the UC president, the president then meets with the chancellor about the results.
Holbrook told Lookout via email that “review outcomes are a personnel-related matter so they remain confidential.”
Stewardship reviews are carried out by the UC-wide Academic Senate and the academic senate of the chancellor being evaluated. The UC-wide and campus-level senate groups are the faculty governing bodies that set policy on a range of topics like curriculum, admissions and budgeting.
A chancellor review committee, made up of five academic senate members, leads the process and completes the report. The report will cover “strengths, areas for improvement, and any areas needing further examination. The report will not serve as an up-or-down judgment on the chancellor’s service,” according to review guidelines.
In late October, UCSC Academic Senate Chair Matt McCarthy asked the university’s faculty to participate in the review and to submit feedback on Larive’s leadership before a Nov. 19 deadline.
“All correspondence and discussion concerning the review will be kept confidential,” he wrote to faculty via email. “Only Ad Hoc Review Committee members, the President, and the Chair of the Systemwide Academic Senate will see the original correspondence.”
UCSC employs about 670 faculty members.
Have news that should be in Lookout Briefs? Send your news releases, including contact information, to news@lookoutlocal.com.
