Green Leader Departs UC San Diego in 2012

Internationally renowned scientist and educator Marye Anne Fox, Chancellor of the University of California, San Diego and 2010 recipient of the National Medal of Science, among many other honors and awards, has announced that she will step down as Chancellor in June 2012 to return to teaching and research as a distinguished professor of chemistry at the university.  The seventh Chancellor of UC San Diego, and the first woman to be appointed as permanent Chancellor, Fox assembled a diverse senior leadership team during her tenure which saw the campus and its faculty earn Nobel and Pulitzer prizes; garner top international and national rankings for research, teaching, medicine and the arts; gain international notice of the university’s discoveries, inventions and other achievements; and merit presidential recognition for a superlative record of public service.

 Under her leadership, UC San Diego has become one of the greenest campuses in the nation and is now a living laboratory for climate change research and solutions. The campus self-generates 85 percent of its power needs, mostly from non-renewable natural gas, and is now focusing on renewable energy projects. The campus soon will have more than 2 megawatts of solar photovoltaic capacity, as well as a 2.8-megawatt fuel cell that will convert waste methane gas directly into electricity. Researchers are also investigating more efficient photovoltaics, renewable fuel sources and energy storage, and the campus has established a Sustainability Resource Center; added new green majors, courses and internships; and mandated that all new buildings be designed to meet stringent sustainability standards.  Nextek is proud to be a part of one of the projects at the Sustainability Resource Center.

Additional information regarding Fox’s tenure at UC San Diego may be found at www.mafox.ucsd.edu.