Former UT System Chancellor Mark Yudof announced plans Friday to step down as president of the University of California and to return to teaching law at UC-Berkeley after serving the University of California for five years.

“While the decision is my own, the moment comes with a mixture of emotions,” Yudof said in a personal statement issued Friday. “I was both honored and humbled to serve as [the UC System’s] president for what has been nearly five years now.”

Yudof served on the boards and faculties of several large universities prior to his induction as the president of the University of California, including the University of Minnesota, UT and the law schools of the University of Michigan and UC-Berkeley.

Yudof came to UT in 1971 and started work as an assistant professor at the law school, eventually earning the position of dean of the School of Law, which he served as for 10 years until 1994. 

From 1994 to 1997 he served as executive vice president and provost at UT. In June 2002, the UT System Board of Regents appointed Yudof as the ninth chancellor of the system, before Yudof took a job as president of the University of California in June 2008. 

UC System spokeswoman Brooke Converse said Yudof was offered a dual appointment as both the president of the UC System and a professor at the UC Berkeley School of Law.

Yudof’s term as president began within challenging circumstances, including a declining economy and severe cuts in funding from the state of California for higher education. To counter the decrease in funding, Yudof nearly doubled tuition rates over the next five years, a move that was met with considerable opposition from students.

Yudof’s resignation came with what he calls “a spate of taxing health issues” and a need to “make a change in my professional lifestyle.” Converse said that it is “possible he has other reasons” but she said she could not speak for him personally.

Randa Safady, vice chancellor for external relations at the UT System, said despite Yudof’s challenges, he leaves a lasting legacy.

“While there were periods of tumultuous activity during his leadership [at UC], I think the history books will refer to Mark Yudof as one of the greatest academic leaders of all time, both in California and in Texas,” Safady said in an email.

Published on January 23, 2013 as "Former UT Chancellor returns to teaching law".