San Diego: Administrative Officers

The chancellor was the chief administrative officer on the San Diego campus after February of 1961, six months after the establishment of the unit which became its first college.

Herbert Frank York, 1961-64, 1970-71
Herbert Frank York, first chancellor of the San Diego campus, was born in Rochester, New York, on November 24, 1921. He received his A.B. degree in physics from the University of Rochester in 1942; his M.A. degree in 1943. In 1949 he was awarded the Ph.D. in physics from the University (Berkeley) and in 1950 participated in a major diagnostics experiment in Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands.

York returned to Berkeley in 1951 and, a year later, initiated and directed the laboratory program at Livermore which conducted research under Atomic Energy Commission sponsorship. In 1958, he became chief scientist of the Advanced Research Projects Agency in Washington, D.C. President Eisenhower appointed him director of Defense Research and Engineering; he was reappointed to this position by President Kennedy. York was named chancellor on February 17, 1961, a position he held for nearly four years. In 1965, he was appointed vice-chairman of the President's Science Advisory Committee by President Johnson. source

John Semple Galbraith, 1964-68
John Semple Galbraith, chancellor after January 1965, was the key figure in directing the growth and development of Diego campus. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, on November 10, 1916, he received his A.B. degree from Miami University (Ohio) in 1938. In 1939 he received his M.A. degree and in 1943 the Ph.D., both from the University of Iowa. He began teaching in 1940 and came to the University (Los Angeles) in 1948. From 1948 to 1964 he served as assistant professor, associate professor, and professor of history. He was chairman of the Department of History from 1954 to 1958. Galbraith joined the staff at San Diego as vice-chancellor in July, 1964. Six months later he was appointed chancellor. source

William McGill, 1968-70
William McGill was born and raised in the Irish community of the lower East Side of New York City. He graduated from Fordham University, then earned his Ph.D. in experimental psychology at Harvard, specializing in information processing and mathematical psychology. He went on to join the faculty at Columbia University, where he became chairman of the psychology department. He came to UCSD in 1965 and was prepared to assume the chairmanship of the statewide Academic Senate when he instead became chancellor in 1968. He left after two years to return to Columbia as president. source

William D. McElroy, 1971-80
A native of Rogers, Texas, William D. McElroy was educated at Stanford University (B.A.), Reed College (M.A.), and Princeton University (Ph.D.). He served as the Director of the National Science Foundation from 1969 until his appointment as chancellor at San Diego in 1971. Before that, he was the long-time chairman of the department of biology at Johns Hopkins University and held numerous advising and consulting positions. He served on the President's Science Advisory Committee during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. source

Richard C. Atkinson, 1980-95
Before becoming Chancellor at UCSD in 1980, Richard C. Atkinson served as director of the National Science Foundation and was a long-term member of the faculty at Stanford University.

Atkinson was appointed deputy director of the National Science Foundation by President Gerald Ford in 1975. Two years later, President Jimmy Carter promoted him to director. At NSF, he had a wide range of responsibilities for science policy at a national and international level, including negotiating the first memorandum of understanding in history between the People's Republic of China and the United States, an agreement for the exchange of scientists and scholars.

Atkinson began his academic career at Stanford University after military service in the U.S. Army. He was a member of the Stanford faculty from 1956 to 1980, except for a three-year period at UCLA. In addition to serving as professor of psychology at Stanford, he held appointments in the School of Engineering, School of Education, Applied Mathematics and Statistics Laboratories, and Institute for Mathematical Studies in the Social Sciences.

Atkinson's research dealt with problems of memory and cognition. His theory of human memory has been influential in shaping research in the field. It has helped in clarifying the relationship between brain structures and psychological phenomena, in explaining the effects of drugs on memory, and in formulating techniques that optimize the learning process.

Richard Atkinson left the chancellorship to become UC's seventeenth president on October 1, 1995. source

Robert C. Dynes, 1996-
Robert C. Dynes came to UCSD in 1992 after a 22-year career at AT&T Bell Laboratories, where he served as department head of semiconductor and material physics research and director of chemical physics research. He subsequently became Chairman of the Department of Physics and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. He became Chancellor in July 1996. Dynes is also active in the national scientific arena and in San Diego civic organizations. source

San Diego: Administrative Officers

Richard C. Atkinson, 1980-95 Before becoming Chancellor at UCSD in 1980, Richard C. Atkinson served as director of the National Science Foundation and was a long-term member of the faculty at Stanford University.

Richard C. Atkinson, 1980-95
Before becoming Chancellor at UCSD in 1980, Richard C. Atkinson served as director of the National Science Foundation and was a long-term member of the faculty at Stanford University.