Administrative Officers

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Riverside: Administrative Officers

Chief Campus Officers
The Citrus Experiment Station was under the jurisdiction of a director from 1911 until 1949, when the development of a liberal arts campus at Riverside was begun and the title of chief executive for the campus was changed to provost. In 1958, in anticipation of the transition from a liberal arts campus to full university status, the title was changed to chancellor. source

Gordon Samuel Watkins, 1949-56
Gordon Samuel Watkins served as the first provost at Riverside and had the administrative responsibility of establishing the new College of Letters and Science and integrating it with the Citrus Experiment Station. Born in Brynmawr, Wales on March 9,1889, he came to the United States at the age of 17. He earned his A.B. degree at the University of Montana, his M.A. at the University of Illinois, and Ph.D. in economics from the University of Pennsylvania in 1918. He taught economics at the University of Illinois from 1917 to 1925. From 1925 to 1949 Dr. Watkins was professor of economics at the University (Los Angeles). While there he served as dean of the College of Letters and Science for ten years and as dean of the Summer Sessions for six years. In 1949 he was named first provost of the Riverside campus and served until his retirement in 1956. Subsequent to his retirement Dr. Watkins was recalled to serve on the Santa Barbara campus as dean of the School of Education. He died in 1970. source

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Herman Theodore Spieth, 1956-64
Herman Theodore Spieth was chief campus officer at Riverside during a period of transition when the small liberal arts college was moving toward full University status. Born in Charlestown, Indiana, on August 21, 1905, he was graduated from Indiana Central College and received the Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Indiana in 1931. Dr. Spieth was a member of the biology staff at City College of New York for 20 years, then joined the faculty of the University (Riverside) in 1954 as professor of zoology and chairman of life sciences. In 1956 he was named provost and held that title until 1958. When the Regents designated Riverside as a general campus his title was changed to chancellor. Upon resigning from this position in June, 1964, Dr. Spieth transferred to Davis as professor of zoology. He died in 1988. source

Ivan Hinderaker 1964-79
Ivan Hinderaker began his tenure as chancellor at Riverside in 1964. Born in Hendricks, Minnesota, on April 29, 1916, he received his A.B. degree from St. Olaf College in 1938, the M.A. in 1942, and the Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1946. Dr. Hinderaker was a member of the Minnesota State Legislature, 1941-1942 and subsequently held positions in the federal government. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1943-1946. After one year on the University of Minnesota faculty, Dr. Hinderaker came to the University (Los Angeles) as assistant professor of political science in 1949. He rose to the rank of professor and, during 1960 to 1962, was department chairman. At this same time he became academic affairs assistant to the chancellor on the Irvine campus, and in July 1963, vice-chancellor--academic affairs full-time on that campus. Dr. Hinderaker was appointed chancellor at Riverside on July 1, 1964. He guided UCR through the period of social unrest common to most college campuses in the 1960s. He retired in 1979 and now lives in Newport Beach. source

Tomás Rivera, 1979-84
A Mexican American who received his early education in Spanish-language barrio schools, Tomás Rivera went on to earn advanced degrees and become the first minority chancellor in the University system in 1979. A graduate of Southwest Texas State University, he completed his graduate study at the University of Oklahoma, where he received a Ph.D. in Romance literature in 1969. Rivera has taught at both the secondary and college levels since 1957, and served as director of the Division of Foreign Language, Literature, and Linguistics at the University of Texas. He then became vice president for administration at the University of Texas at San Antonio. In 1978, he moved to the El Paso campus to become the executive vice president and acting vice president for academic affairs. He left Texas in 1979 to become chancellor at Riverside. Rivera died in office in 1984. source

Daniel G. Aldrich, 1984-85
Daniel Gaskill Aldrich, Jr. was named first chancellor of the Irvine campus in 1962. Born in Northwood, New Hampshire, on July 12, 1918, he received the B.S. degree in 1939 from the University of Rhode Island, the M.S. degree in 1941 from the University of Arizona, and the Ph.D. degree in 1943 from the University of Wisconsin. Joining the University in 1943 as a junior chemist at the Citrus Experiment Station at Riverside, he progressed to the rank of chemist in the Agricultural Experiment Station and in 1955 was appointed professor of soils and chairman of the Department of Soils and Plant Nutrition at Berkeley and Davis. In 1958, he was named dean of the Universitywide Division of Agricultural Sciences and served in that capacity until 1963. He left the Irvine chancellorship in 1984 and was appointed acting chancellor at Riverside following Chancellor Rivera's death. He later served as interim chancellor at Santa Barbara from 1986-87. He died in 1990. source

Theodore L. Hullar, 1985-87
Theodore L. Hullar served from 1979 to 1984 as Cornell University, where he was director of the Agricultural Experiment Station, director of research for the New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and professor of Natural Resources. He moved to Riverside in 1984 when he was selected by Chancellor Rivera as executive vice chancellor. He was chosen to succeed Rivera as chancellor a year after Rivera's death in May, 1984. In 1987, he was reassigned to Davis, where he served until 1994. He is now the director of the Center for the Environment at Cornell University. source

Rosemary S.J. Schraer, 1987-92
After serving for two years as Executive Vice Chancellor, Rosemary S.J. Schraer was named Chancellor when Chancellor Hullar was reassigned to UC Davis in 1987. Before moving to UCR, she served in various capacities as a teacher, researcher, and administrator at Pennsylvania State University. She was the first female chancellor in the UC system. During her tenure, the number of students doubled and more than 200 faculty members were appointed. She died in office in 1992. source

Raymond L. Orbach, 1992-2002
Raymond L. Orbach was born in Los Angeles. He earned a bachelor's degree from the California Institute of Technology in 1956, graduating third in his class and first in physics. He was awarded a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley in 1960. He studied at Oxford University for a year as a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellow before taking an assistant professorship in applied sciences at Harvard University in 1961. His career at UC began in 1960 when he joined the UCLA faulty as an associate professor of physics. He became a full professor in 1966. He went on to become UCLA's vice chancellor for academic change and curriculum development, chairman of the Los Angeles division of the UC Academic Senate, and chairman of the campus's Concillium on Undergraduate Education. He then served as the provost of UCLA's College of Letters and Science, a position he held until his appointment as chancellor at Riverside. He resigned in 2002 to become the Director of the Office of Science in the U.S. Department of Energy in Washington, D.C. source

David H. Warren, 2002
Dr. David H. Warren was named Acting Chancellor in March 2002. He joined the UCR faculty in 1969 and has served as Executive Vice Chancellor since 1994. He graduated from Yale University in 1965 with an A.B. in Psychology, and subsequently earned his doctorate in Child Development from the University of Minnesota. While serving as the Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Science, the Director of the University Honors Program, and the Chair of the Department of Psychology, Dr. Warren's research has resulted in four books and 60 articles on spatial cognition and the impact of visual impairment on child development. source

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France A. Córdova, 2002-
The oldest of twelve children, France Anne Catherine Dominique Córdova was born in Paris, France. She received a bachelor's degree cum laude in English from Stanford University, and a Ph.D. in physics from the California Institute of Technology in 1979. After receiving her degree, Córdova became a Staff Scientist in the Earth and Space Science Division at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. She was appointed Deputy Group Leader of the Space Astronomy and Astrophysics Group at Los Alamos in 1989. That year Córdova accepted the appointment of Head of the Astronomy and Astrophysics Department at The Pennsylvania State University. In 1993, she was named the Chief Scientist at NASA.

Córdova has received many honors for her research and service. In recognition of her "extraordinary service" the National Research Council named her in 2002 a National Associate of the National Academies. In 2000 she was named a Kilby Laureate. In 1999 she received NASA's highest honor, the Distinguished Service Medal. In 1997 Córdova was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Science from Loyola-Marymount University, where she delivered the Commencement Address.

Córdova joined UCSB as Vice Chancellor for Research on August 1, 1996 and became Chancellor on April 9, 2002. source