University of California, Irvine, Chancellor, Michael Drake, Spoke at PI Irvine
Michael V. Drake, M.D., became chancellor of the University of California, Irvine in July 2005. Under his leadership, UC Irvine has garnered a host of achievements in research, education and public service. He has received a number of awards for teaching, public service, mentoring and research, including the UC San Francisco School of Medicine’s Clinical Teaching Award, UCSF alumnus of the year in 2000, and the Herbert W. Nickens Award from the American Association of Medical Colleges in 2004, recognizing his career-long efforts to promote social justice through medical education. He was inducted into UC San Francisco’s Gold Headed Cane Society in 2003 and was awarded the 2007 Champions of Health Professions Diversity by The California Wellness Foundation. Chancellor Drake was Steven P. Shearing Professor of Ophthalmology and senior associate dean at the UCSF School of Medicine. He served as an administrative leader, physician-scientist and teacher, conducting clinical research on glaucoma and maintaining an active referral practice. He has written dozens of scholarly articles and chapters, and co-authored five textbooks. He is a graduate of Stanford University (A.B.) and UC San Francisco (M.D.).
Chancellor started his words by the news of the recent stimulus signed by President Obama. Then he introduced UCI where it was founded 43 years ago, a few years older than the city of Irvine. He added that in the 19, 20th centuries cities were built around factories signaling the Industrial Revolution and during the 21st centuries cities are built around the university campuses. That is very true for Irvine as well he added. Because in our age residencies flourish around knowledge where out of 3500 colleges in the United States, 150 of those including UCI serve as research institutions as well.
He gave the good news that UCI Medical Center will be opened in two weeks when it is also hoped that this facility will be a focus of attention just like the Mayo Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. The construction started four years ago.
UCI is focused on training tomorrow’s leaders today, on environment and energy, economics and new research.
There is also the center for National Fuel Cell Research at UCI, developing cars that run on hydrogen fuel and spends one quarter of the cost of the gas.
Drake added that there are 30 000 students enrolling for the extension programs each year. UCI also provides 4.1 billion of economic stimulus in Irvine each year, with a budget of 1.5 billion of those 300 million coming from the state.