UCLA announces seventh Chancellor - Julio Frenk

The renowned public health researcher and president of the University of Miami since 2015, Dr. Julio Frenk will begin his role as the campus’s seventh chancellor on Jan. 1, 2025.

UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) has announced its 7th chancellor - Dr. Julio Frenk. He has been president of the University of Miami since 2015 and is a renowned public health researcher. On Jan. 1, 2025, he will be succeeding Gene Block, who has served for 17 years as UCLA president. Frenk's appointment was announced by the University of California Board of Regents.

When he joined the University of Miami in August 2015, he achieved a dramatic turnaround of the university’s academic health system and made strategic investments in educational innovation and interdisciplinary research.

Before the University of Miami, he served as dean of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and as Mexico’s national health secretary. In his nearly seven-year tenure as the dean at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, he was known for his efforts toward educational reform and his strong fundraising - the school’s $350 million naming gift was the largest in Harvard’s history at that time. He was also known for his interdisciplinary approach.

While responding to his announcement, Frenk said, “At this crucial moment for higher education, returning to the public sector to lead one of the top research universities in the world — including one of the 10 largest academic health systems — is an exciting opportunity and a great honour for me. I look forward to adding my lifelong commitment to public service in education and health care to the vibrant, diverse and cosmopolitan community that is Los Angeles."

“Dr. Frenk has demonstrated a powerful commitment to the health and well-being of people, institutions and systems around the world. His leadership will build on the growth and strength the campus has achieved under Chancellor Block and accelerate UCLA’s brilliant trajectory in service to Los Angeles, the nation and the world," said University of California President Michael Drake.

More about Julio Frenk

He is a native of Mexico and served from 2000 to 2006 as Mexico’s secretary of health, during which he worked to reform the nation’s health system and launched Seguro Popular. It was an ambitious program to offer universal comprehensive health insurance. He was also the founding director of Mexico’s National Institute of Public Health, one of the leading institutions of health education and research in the developing world.

Read more:

• THE releases University Impact Rankings 2024; Western Sydney University Australia at top
• University of Birmingham Dubai: Admissions open for MEng Mechanical Engineering