Carol T. Christ, the newly appointed chancellor of UC Berkeley, said Thursday she will focus on a multimillion-dollar budget deficit, the student housing crunch and undergraduate education to help the renowned public research university through its worst difficulties in 50 years. Christ, who currently serves as Berkeley's executive vice chancellor and provost, spoke to reporters after University of California regents unanimously approved her selection at their meeting in San Francisco. Christ, 72, will take the helm July 1, succeeding Nicholas Dirks, who announced his resignation last year following widespread criticism over his handling of sexual misconduct scandals, the budget deficit and his leadership style. "Berkeley is a troubled campus in terms of people learning to get along," Regent Richard Blum said shortly before the vote. She has spent more than 30 years at Berkeley as a professor and administrator and also served as president of Smith College.

Source: Los Angeles Times March 16, 2017 18:52 UTC