Julio Frenk, President of the University of Miami, Named Next UCLA Chancellor
Credit: Image Credit: Riccardo Savi / Stringer / Getty Images Entertainment- Dr. Julio Frenk, president of the University of Miami, will be the seventh chancellor of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
- Darnell Hunt, executive vice chair and provost of UCLA, will take on the interim chancellor role after Chancellor Gene Blocks steps down in July.
- Frenk, the university’s first Latino chancellor, will begin his tenure on Jan. 1, 2025.
The University of California (UC) Board of Regents announced that Dr. Julio Frenk will be appointed the seventh chancellor — and first Latino leader — of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
Frenk currently serves as the president of the University of Miami. He previously served as the dean of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and as Mexico’s national health secretary.
His tenure at UCLA begins on Jan. 1, 2025.
At this crucial moment for higher education, returning to the public sector to lead one of the top research universities in the world — including one of the 10 largest academic health systems — is an exciting opportunity and a great honor for me,
Frenk said in a university press release.
I look forward to adding my lifelong commitment to public service in education and healthcare to the vibrant, diverse, and cosmopolitan community that is Los Angeles.
Frenk was the founding director of Mexico’s National Institute of Public Health and served as Mexico’s health secretary from 2000-2006. He has also held positions with the World Health Organization, the Mexican Health Foundation, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s global health program.
In 2008, Frenk began his tenure as the dean of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, serving for seven years before being appointed president of the University of Miami in 2015.
Dr. Frenk has demonstrated a powerful commitment to the health and well-being of people, institutions, and systems around the world,
UC President Michael Drake said in the release. His leadership will build on the growth and strength the campus has achieved under Chancellor Block and accelerate UCLA’s brilliant trajectory in service to Los Angeles, the nation, and the world.
Born in Mexico, Frenk holds a medical degree from the National University of Mexico and a master’s in public health, a master’s in sociology, and a joint doctorate in medical care organization and sociology from the University of Michigan.
Frenk will succeed Chancellor Gene Block, who announced last August that he would step down as chancellor in July 2024, after 17 years of leading UCLA. Darnell Hunt, UCLA’s executive vice chancellor and provost, will serve as interim chancellor before Frenk transitions into the role.
It is an honor to be entrusted with leading UCLA as we await the arrival of Chancellor-designate Frenk,
Hunt said in a statement. UCLA is a remarkable and impactful institution with a passionate and talented community that I know is excited to help create this next chapter of our history under Dr. Frenk’s leadership.