Rich Lyons, who has been involved in campus business for many years and is a leader in innovation, will be appointed as the next president of the University of California, Berkeley.

The University of California Board of Regents today (Wednesday, April 10) named the next chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, a prominent economist and former dean of the Haas School of Business, who will lead the campus’s innovation and entrepreneurship leadership. announced that Rich Lyons, leader of the company, will assume the position. ).

With the board’s unanimous approval, Lyons, 63, becomes the first UC Berkeley undergraduate graduate to lead the campus as a top leader since 1930. In an interview this week, Lyons said he owes his Berkeley roots to campus leaders who asked big questions, pushed the culture forward and encouraged him to strengthen public education. These are all his priorities for the next few years.

“There is no other institution that comes close to Berkeley in shaping my life,” Lyons said. “One of my favorite sayings is, “You can’t be what you can’t see.” “When I came to Berkeley, neither of my parents had a four-year degree. For many reasons, in so many ways, I would not have been able to see the life I have lived had I not spent my undergraduate years at Berkeley.”

Mr. Lyons, Berkeley’s 12th president, will succeed President Carol Christ, who announced her resignation as president on July 1 of last year.

“I am both excited and relieved by this great selection. Rich embodies Berkeley’s best attributes in many ways, and his dedication to the university’s public mission and values ​​could not be further demonstrated. There is nothing stronger than that,” Christ said. “I am confident that he brings to office a visionary desire for Berkeley’s future that is grounded in and deeply respectful of Berkeley’s past.”

rise through the ranks at Berkeley

Born in 1961, Lyons grew up in Los Altos during the early days of Silicon Valley’s startup boom. But technology companies weren’t part of his childhood.

His mother was a flight attendant when she met Lyons, and later married his father, an American Airlines pilot who helped found the airline’s pilots union.

Lyons has two older brothers and remembers traveling to the East Bay to watch Cal State football games when he was in his early teens. These trips sparked his lifelong love of Berkeley.

Courtesy of Rich Lyons

He attended Berkeley and graduated in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business and Finance. Lyons went on to pursue his Ph.D. He received his PhD in economics from MIT in 1987. After six years at Columbia Business, where he taught at his school, Mr. Lyons returned to the West and joined the Berkeley faculty in 1993 as a professor of economics and finance, specializing in the study of international finance and world exchange rates. did.

Since then, he has remained on campus with one notable exception.

For two years starting in 2006, Mr. Lyons worked as Chief Learning Officer at Goldman Sachs. This was a period that instilled in him an appreciation for the importance of leadership and organizational culture.

He carried that lesson with him when he returned to campus in 2008 to become dean of the Haas School of Business.

During his time as dean, Lyons oversaw the construction of Connie and Kevin Chow Hall, a state-of-the-art academic building that opened in 2017 and is known for its sustainability. He also helped establish two new degree programs that connect the School of Business with both the School of Engineering and the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology.

But it was the four clear leadership principles he created that fueled a far-reaching cultural initiative in schools that will be remembered by many. These values—questioning the status quo, having confidence without attitude, and that students always go beyond themselves—became a kind of creed for new students and graduates alike.

“My goal as a leader then and now is to promote and sustain a culture that supports diverse perspectives, gives all students a true sense of belonging, and encourages educational innovation,” Lyons said. Told.

These values ​​are important because they form and support the cohesive fabric of strong, connected communities, from science and technology to the arts and humanities, Lyons said. They also communicate what it means to be at Berkeley and what it means to believe in the university’s public mission.

Courtesy of Rich Lyons

“When we excel as educators, it creates an identity,” Lyons said. “We help students and others understand identities they may not have seen within themselves.”

At a Berkeley Haas event a few years ago, Lyons was asked to write a six-word memoir. Lyons thought about it, trying to sum up his life lessons in a few words. Finally, he got to his next one.

“A lifelong love of ideas and learning.”

Lyons said that message still rings true.

“My best energy comes from here,” he said.

Lyons became Berkeley’s first chief innovation and entrepreneurship officer in January 2020.

Based on research that examines how leaders drive innovation and set norms of behavior and culture, Lyons will advance Berkeley’s innovation and entrepreneurship efforts for the benefit of students, faculty, staff, startups, and external partners. We worked to expand and defend our rich portfolio.

He said this was a major effort to think outside the box. To see innovation and entrepreneurship in action, one need only look to the Berkeley Changemaker Program, which he helped launch in 2020.

Our campus-wide program of approximately 30 courses tells the story of what Berkeley is: a story that members of the Berkeley community can continue to tell for years to come. Berkeley Changemaker started as an idea, and the course quickly became one of the most popular academic courses on campus.

“More than 500 students showed up,” he said. “Why? Because it’s a story. It’s not just a name. It’s not just a curriculum. It’s not just a course. It’s a way of life, and it’s a way of life that Berkeley has occupied forever. There’s no better way to do this. The method is to question the status quo.”

Keegan Houser/University of California, Berkeley

The focus is on “fairness and fairness”

Lyons takes on the chancellor’s role at a complex time for higher education. One of the major challenges facing college campuses is the inherent tension between free speech and maintaining a strong, supportive campus community that embraces diverse perspectives on even the most divisive issues. It’s about finding balance.

Mr Lyons said these issues were a priority. He said he has some ideas on how to address these concerns, but added that his focus in the coming months will be on listening.

“The commitment to equity and fairness in society could not be more fundamental,” he said. “Every student has a need and right to feel that they belong and are respected at Berkeley.”

Whether schools can overcome current challenges depends on how campus leaders lead, Lyons said. Berkeley is known worldwide for its efforts to encourage change-makers who challenge the status quo and advance the best of the university.

He continues to see his role as president as spreading the story of what makes Berkeley unique and fostering a culture unlike any other university.

“If I’m obsessed with anything, I’m obsessed with how leaders work with their people to strengthen the culture,” Lyons said.

Maximilian Aufhammer, professor of international sustainable development and one of five faculty members on the research committee, said Lyons is “an excellent choice to lead UC Berkeley into its next chapter.”

Courtesy of Rich Lyons

“He combines outstanding academic accomplishments with significant administrative leadership experience at Berkeley and other schools,” said Aufhammer, who also serves as academic senate president. “As an alumnus, faculty member, and former dean, Rich knows and loves this campus as much as we all do. I look forward to working with him to promote Berkeley’s academic excellence, global reputation, and access to I look forward to making it even better.”

University of California President Michael V. Drake on Wednesday praised the Lions’ ability to work across campus and the broader community.

“As one of the world’s leading public research universities, the University of California, Berkeley needs and deserves bold, visionary leaders who are deeply committed to higher education and to preserving Berkeley’s academic and research capabilities. “I am very pleased to name Richard Lyons as the next president of our campus,” said Drake. He said. “Rich is a UC Berkeley alumnus and a respected academic leader who brings deep connections to our campus and community and has a proven track record of rallying support for impactful programs and initiatives.”

These community partnerships are especially important between the campus and the city of Berkeley, and leadership support for the campus’ student housing initiatives is welcomed. Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín said he was “delighted with Lyons’ selection as the next chancellor.”

“Whether it’s honing the great values ​​that make Berkeley unique or opening new avenues for students to see futures they didn’t see in themselves, it’s important for the university and for the campus. It holds great promise for city relations,” Arreguín said.

Courtesy of Rich Lyons

Lyons has a busy life, but he always makes time for music. He starts his morning by playing the guitar for at least his 15 minutes. This is a kind of meditation practice that keeps him grounded. He has been known to strum some chords and even sing at campus events.Berkeley-inspired video adaptation of the classic jungle book The song “The Bare Necessities” became a staple at 2017 graduation ceremonies. In 2018, he performed Green Day’s “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” and won the Berkeley Award, one of the campus’s highest community awards.

Lately, Lyons has been drawn to Bob Dylan’s classic song “Like a Rolling Stone.” This is ostensibly a song about someone who has lost everything and has to find a way forward. Lyons has been practicing the song lately with a different interpretation in mind.

“I’m playing that song now as a statement about our times,” he said. “It’s about all of us. Together.”