The selection of Robert C. Dynes, chancellor of the University of California, San Diego, as the new president of the prestigious UC system is welcome news. Dynes has promoted standards of academic excellence in San Diego and will likely provide strong leadership to the university system that serves 200,000 students.

A highly regarded physicist who came to UCSD as a professor in 1991, Dynes confronts the challenge of trying to do more with less money because of California’s budget crisis. While lawmakers slice UC’s budget by about $300 million, the university will enroll thousands more students. Combine an 18 percent increase in enrollment during the last three years with a 6 percent budget cut, and one begins to appreciate the fiscal balancing act facing the new president.

No less daunting is dealing with problems at the two national weapons laboratories that the university manages. Allegations of employee fraud at Los Alamos, N.M., have prompted the federal government to put the university’s management contract out for bid when it expires in 2005. Although the problems at the Lawrence Livermore lab have been less serious, the feds are nonetheless concerned about some missing keys.

Dynes is well-suited to handle both challenges. He is very familiar with the laboratories as vice chairman of a lab oversight council. His quarter-century association with the national labs as an adviser and consultant to the physics and research programs gives him special standing to deal with this sensitive issue.

As for fiscal matters, Dynes spent 22 years at AT&T Bell Laboratories before joining UCSD. His considerable experience in the private sector gives him a healthy appreciation for the bottom line.

Dynes’ tenure at UCSD has been marked by community involvement. As someone who came from a modest background, Dynes knows the value of hard work and determination, as well as the need to connect with a diverse student population. The UC regents have made a solid choice.