Three months ago, Martin Chemers was perfectly happy being dean of social sciences at UC Santa Cruz. Now he’s about to become acting chancellor, overseeing a campus with nearly 15,000 students and a budget of $408 million at a time when the state is cutting university funding.

"It was very unexpected," said Chemers. "I was needed and so I answered the call."

It’s a meteoric rise for the grandson of a Jewish carpenter who left Russia in search of opportunity in America.

UC President Robert Dynes announced the appointment Monday, pending approval by the Regents on March 18. The chancellor’s job pays $269,200 a year.

The appointment is to take effect April 1, the day UCSC Chancellor M.R.C. Greenwood becomes UC provost, the No. 2 position in the system.

Chemers, 60, of Capitola, has spent the past three months as the UCSC provost and executive chancellor. He was tapped by Greenwood to replace John Simpson, who left UCSC to become the president of the State University of New York at Buffalo.

The latest promotion came Friday while Chemers was at a meeting of vice chancellors in Oakland.

While taking over for Greenwood on such short notice may seem a daunting proposition, Chemers is an academic whose forte is organizational psychology and leadership. The Chicago native came to UCSC from Claremont McKenna College in 1995, and guided the development of Colleges 9 and 10 to focus on global issues and social justice.

"It’s a challenge to lead an organization of this quality," Chemers said. "Luckily I’m following a very fine chancellor who established a wonderful vision."

His goal is to keep the campus on track.

That includes the ongoing reorganization project begun a year ago with the help of Avcor, a Los Angeles consulting firm.

"I’m committed to pursuing the same process with the same determination," he said. "We still have budget cuts we have to take, efficiencies we need to achieve."

Last month, Chemers told a lecture hall full of staff that he could not "sugar coat" changes that will eliminate numerous employee positions.

"He has a well-earned reputation for being open, balanced and decisive — just what we need in these difficult times," said anthropology professor Alison Galloway, who chairs the Academic Senate, the faculty governing body.

Chemers said he has not decided whether he will be a candidate to permanently succeed Greenwood.

Martin Chemers
EDUCATION: Bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate from the University of Illinois.
WORK HISTORY: Acting UCSC chancellor; previously was executive vice chancellor and dean of social sciences; came to UCSC in 1995.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Integrated Colleges 9 and 10 with social sciences; initiated the Center for Justice, Tolerance and Community; oversaw creation of 17 new academic programs including the doctorate in education and interdisciplinary study in business management economics, the fastest-growing undergraduate major on campus.

FAMILY: Married to Barbara Goza, an education researcher; two sons, Michael and Holden, and two grandsons.

RECOGNITION: Fellow of the American Psychological Association; fellow of the American Psychological Society; president-elect of the Society of Experimental Psychology.