BERKELEY — Richard Lyons, UC Berkeley’s associate vice chancellor for innovation and entrepreneurship and an alumnus of the university, was named Wednesday to replace Chancellor Carol Christ as she prepares to retire by the end of this semester.
The link between Lyon and the university goes back decades. He earned a bachelor of science degree in business and finance from UC Berkeley in 1982, and returned as a faculty member about a decade later after earning a doctorate. He holds a doctorate in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and taught at Columbia Business School for six years, according to a press release announcing his appointment.
While a professor at UC Berkeley, Lyons specialized in the study of international finance and global exchange rates, according to the press release. Lyons became dean of the Haas School of Business in 2006, helping to create two new degree programs linking the College of Engineering and the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and overseeing the construction of Connie & Kevin Chou Hall, a modern learning laboratory.
“My goal as a leader then and now is to facilitate and sustain a culture that supports diversity of perspectives, provides every student with a true sense of belonging, and encourages educational innovation,” said Lyons. “When we are excellent as educators, it creates an identity. We help students and others see identities in themselves that they previously could not see.
Lyons, whose term as chancellor begins July 1, replaces Christ, who announced his retirement after seven years leading the university. Christ was the first woman to hold this position and rose to the role after decades as a professor and administrator. Lyons will earn a salary of $946,445.
“I am both delighted and reassured by this excellent choice. In many ways, Rich embodies Berkeley’s best assets, and his dedication to the university’s public mission and values could not be stronger,” Christ said in a press release. “I am confident that he will bring to the office visionary aspirations for Berkeley’s future, inspired by and deeply respectful of our past.”
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