NEWS RELEASE, 1/28/99 Professor Donald McQuade named new UC Berkeley vice chancellor; will oversee fund raising, public affairs

By Public Affairs

BERKELEY-- Robert M. Berdahl, chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, today announced that he has named Donald McQuade, a UC Berkeley English professor, to the position of vice chancellor for University Relations, following a nationwide search. In his new position, McQuade, 57, will take the helm of fund raising and public affairs operations at UC Berkeley, overseeing a staff of 180 employees and an operating budget of $12.3 million. Among his immediate responsibilities is to lead the campus's Campaign for the New Century to a successful conclusion. The private fund-raising campaign, among the most ambitious of any public university, is well on course toward its goal of raising $1.1 billion by 2001. "I am delighted that Don McQuade will join us as vice chancellor for University Relations," said Berdahl. "He is an accomplished scholar who has completed several challenging administrative assignments with distinction. "The campus will be well served by his understanding of Berkeley's role and responsibilities as a public trust. As a highly respected member of the Berkeley faculty for 13 years, his ability to communicate to many constituencies the aspirations and values of our faculty and students is invaluable." Pending approval by the UC Board of Regents, McQuade will succeed C.D. Mote, Jr., who departed in August to assume the presidency of the University of Maryland at College Park. John M. Cash, who has served as interim vice chancellor since Mote's departure, was praised by both Berdahl and McQuade for his skillful leadership during this period. Cash will resume his duties as associate vice chancellor for University Relations and director of the capital campaign. Among the vice chancellor's responsibilities is to serve as president of the University of California Berkeley Foundation, a $400 million not-for-profit corporation, which raises, invests and administers donations to the campus. McQuade also will oversee the Office of Public Affairs, which is responsible for campus publications and communications, media relations and the government affairs program. "I am delighted to assist the chancellor and to lead the outstanding professional staff in University Relations in facilitating the research and teaching agendas of the faculty and deans at UC Berkeley," he said. "I look forward to furthering Berkeley's unique position as the most distinguished public research university in the world." Since arriving at UC Berkeley in 1986, McQuade has held several senior administrative posts; most recently he served as acting vice provost for the 1997-98 academic year. As dean of Undergraduate and Interdisciplinary Studies in the College of Letters & Science from 1989-95, he was the founding dean of the American Studies program, also serving on its faculty. In addition, he conceived and developed the Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program, which has grown into a successful campuswide program providing undergraduates the opportunity to do original research. On a national level, McQuade serves on several foundation and nonprofit boards. Currently, he is the vice chair of the board of directors of the National Writing Project, a federally funded project at 160 universities and colleges. It aims to improve the writing skills of students in the nation's public schools. A great advocate of the arts on campus, he served from 1993-95 as acting chair of the Department of Dramatic Art. During this period of uncertainty about its academic programs and future, he led the faculty in founding the Center for Theater Arts. He is also a member of the board of trustees of Cal Performances, the campus's highly acclaimed performing arts presenter. He has written, edited and co-edited many books on writing, American literature and advertising and has two books due out this year - volume 9 of the "The Correspondence of William James" and "Seeing and Writing: Double Takes on Contemporary American Culture." He frequently is interviewed by journalists on the issues of advertising, writing and literacy. Prior to joining the UC Berkeley faculty in 1986, McQuade taught at Queens College, City University of New York. He received his MA and PhD from Rutgers University. In addition to his academic achievements, McQuade was a member of national championship teams in swimming and water polo and was an international and Olympic-certified water polo referee. He is married to Susanne Batschelet McQuade, a program coordinator in the campus's recreational sports program. They live in Oakland. Their daughter, Christine, is a 1996 graduate of UC Berkeley and dances with the New York-based Streb Company. Their son, Marc, is a third-year student at UC Berkeley majoring in architecture.