UC alumna named university’s chief academic officer

Katherine S. Newman has been named the University of California’s chief academic officer. She will serve as the university’s provost and executive vice president of academic affairs beginning Jan. 9.

Newman, a California native and alumna of UC San Diego, is currently the system chancellor for academic programs and the senior vice president for economic development for the University of Massachusetts.

She was selected after a nationwide search to replace Michael T. Brown, who is stepping down after five years in the role.

“It is the honor of a lifetime to return to the University of California, my alma mater twice over as an undergraduate and a graduate student,” Newman said. “I lost count at nine in totaling up the number of people, across three generations of my family, who have completed their degrees within the UC system.  Its excellence in all spheres — from its remarkable faculty to its extraordinary students — is recognized the world over. “

Newman earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and sociology from UC San Diego, then went on to earn a doctoral degree in anthropology at UC Berkeley. She began her teaching career at Berkeley Law in the doctorate program in jurisprudence and social policy.