Napolitano Confirmed as UC President – $570K Salary

Napolitano, who is secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, was appointed at the regents' meeting at UC San Francisco's Mission Bay campus.

The two student regents provided the lone dissenting votes, citing Napolitano's role in deporting undocumented immigrants.

Board chairman Bruce Varner called Napolitano, who will be the first-ever female president of the UC system, "truly remarkable and impressive."

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who serves on the board, said, "I think we're lucky to have her."

A special regents' selection committee had recommended Napolitano after reviewing more than 300 candidates for the position, the board announced last week.

She is expected to continue as head of the Department of Homeland Security until mid-September, with an expected start date as UC president on Sept. 30, said Peter King, UC executive director of public affairs.

The regents today also approved an annual salary of $570,000 for Napolitano, along with an additional payment of $142,500 for relocating to the Bay Area.

Napolitano will replace outgoing UC president Mark Yudof, who announced earlier this year that he was stepping down after five years in the position.

Her appointment was opposed by a group of students and immigrant advocates who gathered outside the conference center before the regents' meeting.

"This is the same person who ... criminalized immigrants," said Jen Low, referencing the federal Secure Communities program that Napolitano oversaw.

"It is unjust for her to be the next president of our treasured public university," said Low, an alumna of UC Santa Cruz.

Several members of the group also spoke in opposition to Napolitano's appointment during today's meeting and shouted down the regents with chants of "Education not deportation," prompting a brief interruption of the meeting and at least five arrests.

Students criticized what they said was a lack of transparency in the selection process and the fact that the appointment occurred during the schools' summer break when it was harder to organize against it.

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