Mark George Yudof (born October 30, 1944) is an American law professor and academic administrator. He is a former president of the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, University of Califor ...

(2008-2013), former chancellor of the

University of Texas System The University of Texas System (UT System) is an American government entity of the state of Texas that includes 13 higher educational institutions throughout the state including eight universities and five independent health institutions. The UT ...

(2002–2008), and former president of the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

(1997–2002). In addition to his position as Chancellor at The University of Texas, Yudof held the Charles Alan Wright Chair in Federal Courts at the

University of Texas School of Law The University of Texas School of Law (Texas Law) is the law school of the University of Texas at Austin. Texas Law is consistently ranked as one of the top law schools in the United States and is highly selective—registering the 8th lowest ac ...

. Previously, he was a faculty member and administrator at The

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

for 26 years, serving as dean of the School of Law from 1984 to 1994 and as the university's executive vice president and provost from 1994 to 1997.

Early life

Born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

to parents of Ukrainian Jewish descent, Yudof was raised in

West Philadelphia West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of the city of Philadelphia. Alhough there are no officially defined boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Avenue to the nort ...

. Yudof's father worked as an electrician. Yudof earned his B.A. ''

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

'' in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...

in 1965 and LL.B. ''cum laude'' from the

University of Pennsylvania School of Law The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Law or Penn Carey Law) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is among the most ...

in 1968.

Legal and academic career (1971–1984)

Yudof joined the faculty of The

in 1971. He has also been a visiting professor at the

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of Comparative Law (MCL ...

and

UC Berkeley School of Law The University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (commonly known as Berkeley Law or UC Berkeley School of Law) is the law school of the University of California, Berkeley, a public research university in Berkeley, California. It is one of 1 ...

. Yudof is a recognized expert in the fields of

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in fe ...

freedom of expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recog ...

, and education law. He was co-counsel for the plaintiffs in the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court case San Antonio v. Rodriguez, the landmark school finance lawsuit. He is the author of ''Gender Justice'' (with David L. Kirp and Marlene Franks), (Chicago Press, 1986; Paperback, 1987) and of ''When Government Speaks: Politics, Law, and Government Expression in America,'' (The University of California Press, 1983). Yudof became a member of the State Bar of Texas in 1980.

University administration career

Dean of the University of Texas School of Law (1984–1994)

From 1984 to 1994, Yudof served as dean of the

Executive vice president and provost of the University of Texas at Austin (1994–1997)

From 1994 to 1997, Yudof served as executive vice president and provost of the

. In that position, Yudof initiated many improvements to undergraduate education, including creating a freshman seminar program and Academy of Distinguished Teachers.

President of the University of Minnesota (1997–2002)

On July 1, 1997, Yudof took office as the 14th president of the

. In his first year as president, Yudof took advantage of a state budget surplus to fund construction projects, historic preservation, and academic priorities at the university. Yudof helped to establish freshman seminars. In 1999 the university moved from a quarter to semester system. The university encountered

scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...

in 1999 after the ''

St. Paul Pioneer Press The ''St. Paul Pioneer Press'' is a newspaper based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. It serves the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. Circulation is heaviest in the east metro, including Ramsey, Dakota, and Washington counties, ...

'' reported that an academic counseling staffer at Minnesota claimed to have done coursework for many student-athletes on the

Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball The Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represents the University of Minnesota in NCAA Division I college basketball competition. The Golden Gophers competes in the Big Ten Conference and play their home games at the Williams Arena. ...

program over the past five years, as well as several other

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

rules violations by Minnesota basketball. Yudof oversaw self-imposed sanctions on the men's basketball program. Those sanctions included a $1.5 million

buyout In finance, a buyout is an investment transaction by which the ownership equity of a company, or a majority share of the stock of the company is acquired. The acquiror thereby "buys out" the present equity holders of the target company. A buyout ...

of the contract of head coach Clem Haskins, a postseason ban for the 1999–2000 season, and scholarship reductions. The scandal led to the resignations of men's athletic director Mark Dienhart and university vice president

McKinley Boston McKinley Boston Jr. (born November 5, 1945) is an American university administrator who most recently was athletic director at New Mexico State University. He was named athletics director on December 14, 2004 and retired effective December 31, 20 ...

. Members of the university board of regents praised Yudof for his handling of the scandal. By 2002, Yudof united men's and women's athletics at Minnesota under a single athletic director. In 2002, a six-story apartment-style hall was built at the University of Minnesota and was named Riverbend Commons and then subsequently renamed after Mark G. Yudof. It is currently referred to as Yudof or Yudof Hall.

Chancellor of the University of Texas System (2002–2008)

Yudof became the ninth chancellor of the

on August 1, 2002. Simultaneously, he was president emeritus at the University of Minnesota and Charles Alan Wright Chair in Federal Courts at the University of Texas School of Law. As University of Texas System chancellor, Yudof allowed individual campuses to set their own tuition rates. He resigned on June 15, 2008, to become President of the

system.

President of the University of California (2008–2013)

In March 2008, Yudof was selected as the next president of UC, to succeed

Robert C. Dynes Robert Carr Dynes (born November 8, 1942) is a Canadian-American physicist, researcher, and academic administrator, and professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley, and the former president of the University of California syste ...

. He began his term on June 16, 2008. In November 2009, ''

TIME Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Ma ...

'' recognized Mark Yudof as one of the "10 Best College Presidents", citing his efforts to provide opportunity and access to a quality education for California residents with financial need whose family income is less than $60,000. In January 2013, Yudof announced his plan to resign as president of the University of California, effective August 31, 2013. He was heavily criticized for securing the maximum pension of $350,000 after only 7 years of service, including one year on paid sabbatical and another in which he taught only one class per semester.

California budget crisis

The California budget crisis resulted in massive cuts to higher education by the California State Legislature and Governor

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...

. Struggling to grapple with the ensuing crisis, California legislative leaders cut more than 20 percent from the UC budget in one year - the largest budgetary reduction in the history of the UC. In a July 9 "Open Letter to UC alumni and friends," UC Regent Richard Blum; Russell Gould, then-chair; Sherry Lansing, then-vice chair; and UC president Yudof wrote,

"The UC model — providing universal access to a top-notch, low-cost education and research of the highest caliber — continues to be studied around the globe among those who would emulate its success. And yet, this model has been increasingly abandoned at home by a state government responsible for its core funding."

As state budgetary support declined dramatically, Yudof kicked off an online grassroots advocacy effort in order to make the case for the University of California. In 2008, Yudof organized advocacy efforts on social media. Yudof called on all students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends to unite behind an aggressive push to make funding UC a state priority. In 2009, Yudof further bolstered this effort through a campaign seeking to let legislators and the governor know how critical their support is in preserving the university's commitment to quality and student access. Also in 2009, Yudof came under criticism for an interview that he gave to Deborah Solomon of the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', in which he joked about taking a pay cut from his salary of over $800,000 to $400,000 in exchange for the White House and Air Force One.

Project You Can

In October 2009, seeking to help keep the University of California accessible and affordable for California students, President Yudof announced an ambitious effort that aims to raise $1 billion for student support over the next four years. Through the fundraising effort
''Project You Can''
all 10 UC campuses have committed to raise $1 billion in the aggregate over the next four years—doubling the amount of private support the system has raised for scholarships, fellowships and other gift aid in the previous five years. The UC Board of Regents endorsed the effort at its November 2009 meeting. Yudof made th

at Sunnyside High School, which for 10 years has propelled promising students toward health careers through its Doctors Academy, a program sponsored by UCSF Fresno. Despite facing social and economic barriers — 87 percent of Sunnyside's students are eligible for free or reduced lunch — all Doctors Academy graduates have gone on to college, 43 percent of them at UC campuses.

Selected papers

Citing increasingly unreliable funding provided to universities by state government, President Yudof called for the

federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...

to bolster its financial commitments to the nation's universities and colleges in his paper title
''Exploring a New Role for Federal Government in Higher Education''
In announcing the proposal, Yudof remarked:

We must find creative ways to expand the federal commitment to research and access into a new category: The nuts-and-bolts core funding that is vital to a robust university, allowing it to hire quality professors, equip laboratories and expand the physical plant.

columnist Bob Herbert visited the

UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant uni ...

campus and had this to say:

The problems at Berkeley are particularly acute because of the state's drastic reduction of support. But colleges and universities across the country — public and private — are struggling because of the prolonged economic crisis and the pressure on state budgets. It will say a great deal about what kind of nation we've become if we let these most valuable assets slip into a period of decline.

His op-ed piece
"Cracks in the Future,"
ran in the

citing

as evidence of the cracks appearing in America's cornerstone of civilization - higher education.Bob Herbert, The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/03/opinion/03herbert.html?_r=3&ref=opinion

Recognition

Yudof is a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

and a member of the

American Law Institute The American Law Institute (ALI) is a research and advocacy group of judges, lawyers, and legal scholars established in 1923 to promote the clarification and simplification of United States common law and its adaptation to changing social needs ...

. In 1993, he and his wife, Judy, were the co-recipients of the

Jewish National Fund Jewish National Fund ( he, קֶרֶן קַיֶּימֶת לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Keren Kayemet LeYisrael'', previously , ''Ha Fund HaLeumi'') was founded in 1901 to buy and develop land in Ottoman Syria (later Mandatory Palestine, and subsequ ...

Tree of Life Award. Judy Yudof served as the first female international president of the

United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ) is the major congregational organization of Conservative Judaism in North America, and the largest Conservative Jewish communal body in the world. USCJ closely works with the Rabbinical Assembly ...

in 2002. In February 2010, Regents of the University of Texas System established the Mark G. and Judy G. Yudof Chair for the benefit of the

. In 2012, ''

The Jewish Daily Forward ''The Forward'' ( yi, פֿאָרווערטס, Forverts), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, '' ...

'' named Yudof in its "Forward 50" list of influential Jewish Americans.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yudof, Mark G. American legal scholars Presidents of the University of California System University of California regents Presidents of the University of Minnesota Chancellors of the University of Texas System Deans of law schools in the United States University of Michigan Law School faculty UC Berkeley School of Law faculty University of Texas at Austin faculty Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni Lawyers from Philadelphia American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent 1944 births Living people