Michael V. Drake

{{short description|American university administrator and physician}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Michael Drake

| image = Michael V Drake.jpg

| caption = Drake in 2018

| office = 21st President of the University of California

| term_start = August 1, 2020

| term_end =

| predecessor = Janet Napolitano

| successor = James Milliken (designate)

| office1 = 15th President of Ohio State University

| term_start1 = June 30, 2014

| term_end1 = June 30, 2020

| predecessor1 = Joseph A. Alutto

| successor1 = Kristina M. Johnson

| office2 = 5th Chancellor of the University of California, Irvine

| term_start2 = July 1, 2005

| term_end2 = June 30, 2014

| predecessor2 = Ralph J. Cicerone

| successor2 = Howard Gillman

| birth_name = Michael Vincent Drake

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1950|7|9}}

| birth_place = New York City, New York, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| spouse = Brenda Drake

| education = Sacramento City College
Stanford University (BA)
University of California, San Francisco (MD)

}}

Michael Vincent Drake (born July 9, 1950){{cite LAF|id=n 86010175}} is an American university administrator and physician who is the 21st president of the University of California. Earlier, from 2014 to June 2020, he was the 15th president of Ohio State University. He was the chancellor of the University of California, Irvine from 2005 to 2014, and has also served as vice president for health affairs for the University of California system. He is the first African American to head The Ohio State University and the University of California.

Early life and education

Michael V. Drake was born in New York City and raised in Englewood, New Jersey, and Sacramento, California.{{Cite web|title=Michael V. Drake (2005-2014)|url=https://special.lib.uci.edu/collections/anteater-chronicles/chancellors/michael-v-drake|access-date=July 8, 2020|website=UCI Special Collections & Archives|publisher=University of California, Irvine}} He is the son of a doctor and a social worker. His mother graduated from East High School in Youngstown, Ohio, before attending college in Baltimore. The family lived in Baltimore, Nashville, Tennessee, New York, and New Jersey before settling in Northern California. He graduated from C.K. McClatchy High School in Sacramento, California in 1967.{{Cite web |last=Morrar |first=Sawsan |date=July 8, 2020 |title=From McClatchy High School to University of California president: A Q&A with Michael V. Drake |url=https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/education/article243972452.html |access-date=July 13, 2020 |website=The Sacramento Bee}} During college summers in the early 1970s, he worked at the original Tower Records.{{Cite web|date=August 2018|title=Michael V. Drake, M.D.|url=https://ohiostatebuckeyes.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/84-85_President-Drake.pdf|access-date=July 7, 2020|website=The Ohio State University}}

Drake attended Sacramento City College from 1967 to 1969. He received a Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University in 1974 and a Doctor of Medicine and residency training from the University of California, San Francisco in 1975. He completed an Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School in 2005.{{Cite web |last=Drake |first=Michael V. |date=2020-07-06 |title=CURRICULUM VITAE – Michael V. Drake, M.D. |url=https://universityofcalifornia.edu/sites/default/files/mvd-cv.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221023203350/https://universityofcalifornia.edu/sites/default/files/mvd-cv.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-23 |access-date=2022-10-23 |website=University of California}}{{Cite web |title=Biography of President Drake {{!}} UCOP |url=https://www.ucop.edu/president/about/index.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20221023203914/https://www.ucop.edu/president/about/index.html |archive-date=2022-10-23 |access-date=2022-10-23 |website=University of California Office of the President}}

Career

Drake spent more than two decades on the faculty of the UCSF School of Medicine, ultimately becoming the Steven P. Shearing Professor of Ophthalmology and senior associate dean. He then served for five years as vice president for health affairs for the University of California system. From July 2005 to June 2014, Drake served as chancellor of the University of California, Irvine. He also served as a professor of ophthalmology (School of Medicine) and Education (School of Education).{{Cite interview|last=Drake|first=Michael V.|interviewer=LEADERS Magazine|title=Buckeye Nation: An Interview with Michael V. Drake, M.D., President, The Ohio State University|url=http://www.leadersmag.com/issues/2019.2_Apr/Columbus/LEADERS-Michael-Drake-The-Ohio-State-University.html|date=2019}}

=University of California, Irvine chancellorship=

In 2005, Drake was appointed as the fifth chancellor of the University of California, Irvine (UCI). He officially began his term on July 1, 2005.{{cite news|author=UC Regents |title=UC vice president named new UC Irvine chancellor |url=http://www.today.uci.edu/news/release_detail.asp?key=1329 |work=Today@UCI |date=May 26, 2005 |accessdate=November 22, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070810085618/http://today.uci.edu/news/release_detail.asp?key=1329 |archive-date=August 10, 2007 }}{{Cite web|last=Spitzer|first=Anna Lynn|date=May 27, 2005|title=UC Irvine Names, Meets New Chancellor|url=http://www.calit2.net/newsroom/release.php?id=603|access-date=July 8, 2020|website=California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology}} His annual $350,000 salary remained unchanged from his previous position at the Office of the President.{{dead link|date= August 2020}} As of 2010 he earned $374,969.32.{{cite news | author=The Sacramento Bee | title=State Worker Salary Search | url=http://www.sacbee.com/statepay/?name=Drake&agency=&salarylevel=300000 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20130201161636/http://www.sacbee.com/statepay/?name=Drake&agency=&salarylevel=300000 | url-status=dead | archive-date=February 1, 2013 | work=University of California, Irvine | date=February 2, 2012 | accessdate=February 6, 2012}}

=Ohio State University presidency=

On January 30, 2014, the Ohio State University Board of Trustees named Drake as the 15th president of Ohio State University. He began his tenure at the university on June 30, 2014.{{cite news

| url = http://www.nbc4i.com/story/24593424/ohio-state-announces-dr-michael-drake-as-new-president

| title = Ohio State Announces Dr. Michael Drake As New President

| last = Yost

| first = Denise

| work = NBC4i.com

| date = January 30, 2014

| accessdate = January 30, 2014

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140224211444/http://www.nbc4i.com/story/24593424/ohio-state-announces-dr-michael-drake-as-new-president

| archive-date = February 24, 2014

| url-status = live

}} At the time of his appointment, he was part of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Institute of Medicine, and the board of directors of NCAA Division I.{{Cite web|last=Farkas|first=Karen|date=January 31, 2014|title=Ohio State University's new president, Dr. Michael Drake, 'honored, excited' with post|url=https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2014/01/ohio_state_universitys_new_pre_1.html|access-date=July 7, 2020|website=Cleveland.com|language=en}}

In 2017, Dr. Drake led the establishment of the Ohio State Tuition Guarantee, which freezes tuition, mandatory fees, housing and dining for four years for incoming, in-state freshmen. He also increased the value of Ohio State Land Grant Opportunity Scholarships to cover the full cost of attendance while doubling the size of the program in 2018.{{Cite web|title=Michael V. Drake, MD|url=https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/about-us/our-people/michael-drake|access-date=July 8, 2020|website=The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center|language=en|archive-date=January 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200110152905/https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/about-us/our-people/michael-drake|url-status=dead}} In March 2015, Drake was appointed to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame board in Ohio.{{Cite web|last=Yarborough|first=Chuck|date=March 13, 2015|title=Rock Hall adds 3 to board of trustees, including OSU president and former Browns exec|url=https://www.cleveland.com/music/2015/03/rock_hall_adds_3_to_board_of_t.html|access-date=July 7, 2020|website=Cleveland.com|language=en}} In November 2019, the university announced that Drake would retire in 2020.{{Cite web|last=Baird|first=Nathan|date=November 21, 2019|title=Ohio State president Michael V. Drake plans to retire in 2020|url=https://www.cleveland.com/news/2019/11/ohio-state-president-michael-v-drake-to-retire-in-2020.html|access-date=November 24, 2019|website=Cleveland.com|language=en}}

= University of California presidency =

On July 7, 2020, Drake was selected as the 21st president of the University of California system, making him the first black president in UC's 152-year history.{{Cite news|last=Asimov|first=Nanette|date=July 7, 2020|title=UC names first Black president. Michael Drake, former Ohio State leader, picked to replace Janet Napolitano|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/education/article/UC-names-first-Black-president-Michael-Drake-15392674.php|access-date=July 7, 2020|website=SF Chronicle|language=en-US}} On July 31, 2024, Drake announced that he would step down from his role as President of the University of California at the conclusion of the 2024-2025 academic year with plans to join the University of California faculty thereafter.{{cite web |url=https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/press-room/letter-uc-community-president-michael-v-drake-md |title=Letter to the UC community from President Michael V. Drake, M.D. |date=July 31, 2024 }}

Personal life

Drake is married to Brenda Drake. An alumna of Stanford and Berkeley Law, Brenda Drake is an attorney and has served as a director or trustee of organizations focused on education, international health, finance, civil rights and the arts, including the National Urban League, City Arts & Lectures in San Francisco, San Francisco University High School and Golden Gate Bank.{{cite web|author=Summer Cartwright|url=https://www.thelantern.com/2018/03/brenda-drake-is-avant-garde-and-cool/|title=Brenda Drake is Avant-garde and Cool|website=The Lantern|date=March 5, 2018}} She is a director emerita and former board chair of Engender Health Inc., an international women's health organization, and is currently a trustee of the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive.{{Cite web|date=March 7, 2017|title=Former Chancellor Michael Drake, Brenda Drake to Receive UCI Medal|url=https://zotline.communications.uci.edu/blog/2017/03/07/former-chancellor-michael-drake-brenda-drake-to-receive-uci-medal/index.html|access-date=July 7, 2020|website=UCI Zotline|publisher=University of California, Irvine|language=en-US}}{{cite web|url=https://bampfa.org/about/people/trustees|title=BAMFA Board of Trustees|website=bampfa.org|date=September 11, 2015 }} Drake and his wife have two adult sons and four grandchildren.

Drake's first job was working at Tower Records. He is quoted as saying he has a "passion for music, which is still a hobby today".{{Cite web|last=Gest|first=Jayne|date=November 27, 2017|title=Dr. Michael V. Drake drives future success at The Ohio State University|url=https://www.sbnonline.com/article/dr-michael-v-drake-drives-future-success-ohio-state-university/|access-date=July 7, 2020|website=Smart Business Magazine|language=en-US}} In 2015, Drake was appointed to the board of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc. He has had a lifelong interest in music (notably rock and jazz), plays guitar, and teaches an undergraduate course on the music of the civil rights movement.{{cite news |title=Ohio State University President Michael V. Drake appointed to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Board of Trustees |url=https://news.osu.edu/ohio-state-university-president-michael-v-drake-appointed-to-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-and-museum-board-of-trustees/ |work=Ohio State News |publisher=Ohio State University |date=March 12, 2015}}

Awards and honors

In 2017, he and his wife, Brenda, were awarded the 10th Annual King Arts Legends & Legacies Award as well as the University of California-Irvine Medal, joining past honorees ranging from U.S. presidents to Ella Fitzgerald.{{Cite web|title=Dr. Michael V. Drake {{!}} The Ohio State University President|url=https://president.osu.edu/people/dr-drake|access-date=July 8, 2020|website=The Ohio State University|language=en|archive-date=September 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200901123437/https://president.osu.edu/people/dr-drake|url-status=dead}}
Member of the Columbus Partnership{{Cite web|title=Michael V. Drake, M.D.|url=https://www.columbuspartnership.com/members/michael-drake/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180509145257/http://www.columbuspartnership.com/members/michael-drake/|archive-date=May 9, 2018|access-date=November 27, 2019|website=Columbus Partnership}}
Michael J. Hogan Award (laboratory science){{Cite web |title=Michael V. Drake |url=https://theconversation.com/profiles/michael-v-drake-470053 |access-date=July 8, 2020 |website=The Conversation |date=April 28, 2018 |language=en}}

Professional decisions

=Chemerinsky firing and rehiring=

{{See also|University of California, Irvine School of Law#Chemerinsky hiring controversy}}

Drake's first major firing scandal was to fire the Dean of the UCI law school, Erwin Chemerinsky. After Chemerinsky signed a contract on September 4, 2007, Drake rescinded the offer because he felt the law professor's commentaries were "polarizing"; Drake claimed the decision was his own and not the subject of any outside influence.{{Cite web|last1=Therolf|first1=Garrett|last2=Weinstein|first2=Henry|date=September 13, 2007|title=UC Irvine post is taken from liberal legal scholar|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-sep-13-me-uci13-story.html|access-date=July 7, 2020|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}

The action was criticized by both liberal and conservative scholars who felt it hindered the academic mission of the law school and violated principles of academic freedom. Few believed Drake's claims that it was not the result of outside influence.{{Cite web|last=Parsons|first=Dana|date=September 13, 2007|title=Excuse for UCI's fumble isn't good enough|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-sep-13-me-parsons13-story.html|access-date=July 7, 2020|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}} The issue was the subject of an editorial in The New York Times on September 14, 2007.{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/14/opinion/14fri3.html | work=The New York Times | title=A Bad Beginning in Irvine | date=September 14, 2007 | accessdate=May 2, 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140504205617/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/14/opinion/14fri3.html | archive-date=May 4, 2014 | url-status=live }} Details emerged revealing that UCI had received criticism on the hire from the California Supreme Court's then-Chief Justice Ronald M. George, who criticized Chemerinsky's grasp of death penalty appeals, as well as a group of prominent local Republicans who wanted to stop the appointment, including Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich. Drake traveled over a weekend to meet with Chemerinsky in Durham, North Carolina, where Chemerinsky was a professor at the Duke University School of Law at the time, and the two reached an agreement.{{Cite web|last1=Therolf|first1=Garrett|last2=Paddock|first2=Richard C.|date=September 18, 2007|title=Law dean is rehired as furor goes on|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-sep-18-me-uci18-story.html|access-date=July 7, 2020|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}} On September 17, Chemerinsky issued a joint press release with Drake indicating that Chemerinsky would head the UCI law school.{{Cite web|last1=Drake|first1=Michael V.|last2=Chemerinsky|first2=Erwin|date=September 17, 2007|title=Statement From Chemerinsky & Drake|url=http://www.ocblog.net/ocblog/2007/09/statement-fro-1.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071029170502/http://www.ocblog.net/ocblog/2007/09/statement-fro-1.html|archive-date=October 29, 2007|access-date=July 7, 2020|website=OC Blog}} On September 20, 2007, Chemerinsky's hire was formally approved by the Regents of the University of California.{{Cite news|date=September 20, 2007|title=Erwin Chemerinsky named founding dean of UC Irvine's Donald Bren School of Law|work=UC Irvine Today|url=http://today.uci.edu/iframe.php?p=/news/release_detail_iframe.asp?key=1665|url-status=dead|access-date=July 7, 2020|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20120114011928/http://today.uci.edu/iframe.php?p=/news/release_detail_iframe.asp?key=1665|archive-date=January 14, 2012}} In 2014, Chemerinsky said that he and Drake had since reconciled.{{Cite news|last=Rivera|first=Carla|date=January 30, 2014|title=UC Irvine chancellor takes top job at Ohio State|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/la-xpm-2014-jan-30-la-me-uci-chancellor-20140131-story.html|access-date=July 7, 2020}}

=Waters firing=

Drake fired Ohio State marching band director Jon Waters on July 24, 2014,{{Cite news|date=July 26, 2014|title=Ohio State band controversy puts university in spotlight again|work=Fox News|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/ohio-state-band-controversy-puts-university-in-spotlight-again|access-date=July 7, 2020}} after a university investigation found that the band's "sexualized culture" was "inconsistent with the University's values and Title IX requirements". The university stated that there were "serious cultural issues and an environment conducive to sexual harassment within the Marching Band", and that the band director "was aware or reasonably should have known about" it.{{Cite web|last=Lesmerises|first=Doug|date=January 12, 2019|title=Ohio State fires band director Jon Waters over 'environment conducive to sexual harassment'|url=http://www.cleveland.com/osu/index.ssf/2014/07/ohio_state_fires_band_director.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160207000435/http://www.cleveland.com/osu/index.ssf/2014/07/ohio_state_fires_band_director.html|archive-date=February 7, 2016|access-date=February 6, 2016|website=Cleveland.com}} Waters sued for reinstatement, accusing the university, Drake, and a provost of discriminating against him by disciplining him differently than a female employee and denying him due process.{{cite news|last1=Binkley|first1=Collin|title=Fired band director Waters sues OSU|url=http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/09/26/Fired_band_director_waters_suing_ohio_state.html|accessdate=October 24, 2014|work=The Columbus Dispatch|date=September 27, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924002229/http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/09/26/Fired_band_director_waters_suing_ohio_state.html|archive-date=September 24, 2015|url-status=live}}{{cite news|date=August 11, 2014|title=Alum: Claim vs. director 'absurd'|work=ESPN|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/11340758/allegations-ex-ohio-state-marching-band-director-absurd-witness-says|url-status=live|access-date=September 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906112737/http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/11340758/allegations-ex-ohio-state-marching-band-director-absurd-witness-says|archive-date=September 6, 2014}}{{cite news|last1=Yost|first1=Denise|date=August 19, 2014|title=NBC4 Fact Checks OSU President's Remarks About TBDBITL Report|work=NBC4i|url=http://www.nbc4i.com/story/26320150/nbc4-fact-checks-osu-presidents-remarks-about-tbdbitl-report|url-status=dead|accessdate=September 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906090402/http://www.nbc4i.com/story/26320150/nbc4-fact-checks-osu-presidents-remarks-about-tbdbitl-report|archive-date=September 6, 2014}}{{cite news|last1=Yost|first1=Denise|date=August 18, 2014|title=Did Ohio State's Band Investigation Follow Best Practices?|work=NBC4i|url=http://www.nbc4i.com/story/26309341/did-ohio-states-band-investigation-follow-best-practices|url-status=dead|accessdate=September 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906085527/http://www.nbc4i.com/story/26309341/did-ohio-states-band-investigation-follow-best-practices|archive-date=September 6, 2014}} Drake has stood by his decision to terminate Waters as marching band director.{{cite news|last1=Yost|first1=Denise|date=August 13, 2014|title=OSU President Closes Door To Rehiring Band Director|work=NBC4i|url=http://www.nbc4i.com/story/26271724/osu-president-drake-addresses-firing-of-band-director|url-status=dead|accessdate=September 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906090350/http://www.nbc4i.com/story/26271724/osu-president-drake-addresses-firing-of-band-director|archive-date=September 6, 2014}} As of January 2015, the university had spent nearly $1 million in defense of the decision and subsequent actions.{{cite news|last1=Binkley|first1=Collin|title=Ohio State bills for band investigation and defense pushing $1 million|url=http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/01/23/Ohio-State-legal-defense-of-band-pushing-$1-million.html|accessdate=January 26, 2015|work=Columbus Dispatch|date=January 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150127001629/http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/01/23/Ohio-State-legal-defense-of-band-pushing-$1-million.html|archive-date=January 27, 2015|url-status=live}}