Marye Anne Fox
Chancellor, University of California San Diego
Marye Anne Fox, a world-renowned chemist, is the seventh chancellor of the University of California, San Diego and distinguished professor of chemistry. Since her appointment as chancellor of UC San Diego, the university has established new research and partnership ventures to further innovation and increase international collaboration, achieved an ambitious $1 billion campaign goal, expanded academic and campus programs and facilities, received national and international recognition in prominent university rankings and assembled a strong, diverse leadership team to ensure the university’s continued rise in excellence.
Before her current appointment, Fox served as North Carolina State University's 12th chancellor, as distinguished university professor of chemistry at NC State (from 1998 to 2004) and as Waggoner Regents Chair in chemistry and Vice President for Research at the University of Texas at Austin. She joined the faculty of the University of Texas at Austin in 1976, after a postdoctoral appointment at the University of Maryland. Fox received her B.S. from Notre Dame College and her Ph.D. from Dartmouth College, both in chemistry. She has been elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences and the American Philosophical Society, and to fellowships both in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association of Advancement of Science. She has also received honorary degrees from 12 institutions in the U.S. and abroad. Fox was born in Canton, Ohio in 1947.
Administrative
Chancellor Fox serves as head administrative officer of the University of California, San Diego, one of 10 campuses in the world-renowned University of California system. As one of the top institutions in the nation for higher learning and research, UC San Diego is recognized for its local impact, national influence and global reach. Since its founding in 1960 on a spectacular 1,200-acre mesa overlooking the Pacific Ocean, UC San Diego has attracted a wide array of outstanding scholars, including Nobel Laureates, National Academy of Sciences members, and Tony and Academy Award winners. Regarded as the "youngest of the best" of nationally-ranked institutions of higher learning, UC San Diego boasts an acclaimed system of six undergraduate colleges that combines the intimacy of a small liberal arts college with the academic resources of a major research university. The third largest employer in San Diego County (after the federal government and the San Diego Unified School District), UC San Diego’s annual revenues are $2.4 billion and the university employs more than 26,000 faculty and staff. UC San Diego enrolls more than 28,000 students, 22,000 of whom are undergraduates. Approximately 53% of all students are female and 47% are male. In addition, all incoming freshmen graduated in the top 10% of their high school graduating class.
UC San Diego's programmatic offerings – more than 130 academic degree programs –are both impressive and highly ranked, ranging from science, management, engineering and medicine to social science, international studies, and arts and humanities. In addition to its highly rated graduate research programs, UC San Diego offers professional degrees in medicine, management, pharmacology and pharmaceutical science, and international studies. UC San Diego's research prowess has catapulted the campus to the top ranks of national and international academic standings. U.S. News and World Report ranks UC San Diego as the 7th best public university in the nation. UC San Diego was named the “hottest” institution in the nation for students to study science by Newsweek and the 2006 Kaplan/Newsweek College Guide. The National Science Foundation ranks UC San Diego 7th in the nation in federal R&D expenditures and Thomson Scientific ranks UC San Diego 7th in the nation for 'citation impact' in science & social science. The National Research Council ranks UC San Diego 10th in the nation in quality of faculty and graduate programs.
Teaching
Fox has taught courses in chemistry, ranging from lower division to advanced graduate levels. The University of Texas Magazine named her “Best of University of Texas Natural Science Faculty.” In 1986, she won the Teaching Excellence Award in her college. In 1996, she won Sigma Xi's Monie A. Ferst Award in recognition of outstanding mentoring of graduate students. So far, 27 doctoral and 15 masters’ degrees have been awarded under her guidance. At the national level, she is a frequent lecturer on science education policy and reform. She has served as co-chair of a National Science Foundation/National Science Board Task Force on Graduate Education and on Texas, Louisiana, and National Research Council advisory panels for systemic improvement of K-12 science and mathematics education, and teacher training.
Research
Fox is one of the nation’s most creative physical organic chemists, having published extensively in organic photochemistry and electrochemistry. Her work has clear application in materials science, solar energy conversion and environmental chemistry. She has been elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and to fellowships in both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. From the American Chemical Society, she has received the Garvan Award and the Southwest Regional Award, and has been named Arthur C. Cope Scholar. She has received international research awards in Spain, Holland, Germany and Russia, and was cited by Esquire Magazine as “Best of the New Generation.” She has been a Sloan Research Fellow and a Dreyfus Teacher Scholar, and was named by the New York Academy of Sciences in 1999 as an Outstanding Woman in Science.
Service
Fox currently serves on the Council on Competitiveness, Building Engineering and Science Talent (BEST), the Association of American Universities (AAU), National Security – Higher Education Advisory Board, World Universities Network (WUN), Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) and APRU’s World Institute (AWI), University of California President’s Board on Science and Innovation, the Chemical Heritage Foundation, the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation’s Scientific Affairs Committee, and the Robert A. Welch Foundation Scientific Advisory Board. She serves on the board of directors of W.R. Grace, Inc., Red Hat and Boston Scientific. She has served on 14 editorial boards, including a stint as associate editor of the Journal of the American Chemical Society. She is the recipient of the Charles Lathrop Parson Award for 2005 from the American Chemical Society, in recognition of outstanding public service.
Fox also serves on numerous San Diego regional advisory boards, including Rady Children’s Hospital and Health Center, La Jolla Playhouse, and the Cecil and Ida M. Green Foundation for Earth Sciences.
