DID YOU KNOW?

Dr. Drake has been on the faculty of UCSF’s Department of Ophthalmology for over 20 years.

Michael V. Drake, MD, has been selected as the 21st president of the University of California (UC) world-renowned system of ten campuses, five medical centers, three nationally-affiliated labs, more than 280,000 students and 230,000 faculty and staff. He is the first person of color to serve as UC President in the system’s 152-year history.

With a long and distinguished career in higher education, Dr. Drake most recently served as president of Ohio State University (OSU) since 2014. Prior to his six years at OSU, his entire academic career has been at UC, including as chancellor of UC Irvine from 2005 to 2014 and as the systemwide vice president for Health Affairs from 2000 to 2005.

His appointment is especially exciting as Dr. Drake is a longtime UCSF colleague. He received his medical degree is from UCSF, did his residency and fellowship in ophthalmology here, and subsequently spent more than two decades on the faculty of the UCSF School of Medicine, including as the Steven P. Shearing Professor of Ophthalmology. He was also Vice Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and Senior Associate Dean for Admissions and Extramural Academic Programs in the School of Medicine.

Under his leadership as Chancellor, Dr. Drake greatly enhanced UC Irvine’s reputation as a premier university. UC Irvine rose to join the Top 10 Public Universities in U.S. News & World Report’s annual list and was ranked by Times Higher Education as the No. 1 university in the US under 50 years old. During his tenure, the fouryear graduation rate increased by more than 18 percent, while undergraduate enrollment and diversity significantly increased. In addition, Dr. Drake oversaw the establishment of new schools of law and education as well as programs in public health.

He has published numerous scientific articles and co-authored six textbooks. Dr. Drake is a member of several national scientific and scholarly societies including the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Academies of Science. He has received several awards for teaching, public service, mentoring, and research.

Dr. Drake and his wife, Brenda, have two grown sons and four grandchildren.