UCLA names new chancellor amid ongoing anti-war protests and arrests

Frenk replaces 75-year-old Gene Block, who served as UCLA’s chancellor for nearly 20 years but announced his retirement in late July last year. Toward the end of his tenure this spring, Block came under fire for his handling of pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus, and the faculty narrowly voted against censure.

“I approach this appointment with great excitement and also with humility,” Frenk said at a press conference on Wednesday. “I consider this position as Federal Chancellor to be my dream job.”

UCLA leadership said Wednesday that Frenk would work to reunify the university. Richard Leib, chairman of the UCLA Board of Regents, called him “a man of healing” who would “help bring the campus together.” Frenk promised that he would encourage dialogue to prove to everyone at UCLA that “there is a commonality, a common humanity that unites everyone.”

Frenk’s election came after a turbulent period for the university, which became a hotbed of violence in the spring as pro-Palestinian protests spread across campuses nationwide. At UCLA, counterprotesters attacked a student camp in late April with fireworks and tear gas, as well as fists, metal bars and wooden boards – but police did not intervene for more than three hours, a Washington Post investigation found. The next night, police in riot gear cleared the camp and arrested more than 200 people.

Following the incident, UCLA announced that its police chief had been transferred and that authorities had set up an Office of Campus Safety to investigate security concerns. The school also commissioned an outside investigation into the university’s response that night, as well as a separate investigation into the violence committed by the perpetrators. The school has asked the FBI for help.

Frenk said on Wednesday He said he was aware of the two ongoing investigations and added that he looked forward to examining the investigators’ findings and recommendations.

On Monday afternoon, about 100 protesters attempted to set up protest camps again at UCLA during the final days of the spring semester and while students were taking final exams. The protesters attempted to set up two camps but disbanded them at the direction of UCLA police, according to a statement from the university’s police department. At one point, the protesters entered a campus building where students were taking exams, police said.

Protesters then marched to a courtyard and set up a third camp, after which UCLA police arrested about 25 people and charged them with disrupting university operations, according to a police statement. Police released the 25 people and ordered them to stay off UCLA grounds for two weeks.

When asked how he would handle the pro-Palestinian student protests on Wednesday, Frenk did not respond. Instead, University of California President Michael Drake intervened, saying: “Our job is to make sure the protests take place safely. … That is a daily task for us.”

When asked how he plans to ensure students feel safe on campus, Frenk did not elaborate. He said his goal is to protect the right to free speech while making it clear that UCLA will not tolerate harassment or discrimination.

“If we have clarity on all of this, then I think we can move forward,” he said. “For me, that is the basic prerequisite for ensuring this sense of security.”

Another challenge for UCLA’s new leader is skepticism among Republican lawmakers about whether the university is adequately dealing with allegations of anti-Semitism on campus.

Last month, outgoing Chancellor Block was summoned to testify before Congress along with the heads of Rutgers and Northwestern universities. to account for their handling of pro-Palestinian demonstrations.

On Wednesday, Frenk spoke at length about how colleges across the country are facing a loss of trust, not just among lawmakers but also among the general public. He said he hopes to revive that waning trust by emphasizing what UCLA can offer the world. He said colleges and universities can and should be “the most important sources of opportunity, social mobility and … talent” for society.

UCLA in particular can offer cutting-edge research on advanced healthcare technologies, he said.

“We should never lose sight of the incredible value that universities contribute to societal well-being… we must use this value and continue to defend it in order to gain trust,” Frenk said. “Trust is not given, it must be earned.”

The announcement of the new chancellor comes just before UCLA’s graduation ceremony this weekend, where further protests are expected.