Editorial: Denton’s successes should be remembered

At UCLA, the tone surrounding recent discussions of the
chancellor has been optimistic, with incoming Interim Chancellor
Norman Abrams, a UCLA professor emeritus of law, taking office on
July 1 while the search for a permanent replacement for Chancellor
Albert Carnesale continues.

There has been praise for Carnesale for the success of the
fundraising endeavor Campaign UCLA and his leadership through the
turbulent months following Sept. 11, 2001. There has been praise
for Abrams and his long relationship with UCLA, and there has been
excitement for the beginning of a new, if short, era in UCLA
history over which he will preside.

But at UC Santa Cruz in the past few days, the story has been
different. Members of the UC Santa Cruz and broader University of
California communities have found themselves saying goodbye to
another chancellor, only under much different and more somber
circumstances.

Denice Denton, 48, who was the first openly gay chancellor of a
UC campus and the first woman to hold the chief executive position
at UC Santa Cruz, died after falling from the roof of her
partner’s 43-story apartment building in San Francisco on
Saturday morning, in an apparent suicide.

Denton had been on medical leave since June 15 for unspecified
circumstances and missed commencement exercises at UC Santa Cruz.
Her mother told authorities that her daughter had been depressed
about her personal life and her job.

As the UCLA community looks forward to the presence of a new
figure in the chancellor’s office in Murphy Hall, we should
not forget the sad circumstances that will now prompt a chancellor
search at UC Santa Cruz.

To add to the words of sympathy expressed by UC President Robert
Dynes, UC Santa Cruz Campus Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor
David Kliger and others, the Daily Bruin would like to extend its
sympathy to the UC Santa Cruz community and to Denton’s
family for their loss.

Denton’s reputation during her short tenure as Santa
Cruz’s chancellor has been a mixed one. Recently her positive
contributions have been overshadowed by criticism regarding her
place in the compensation controversy that has been plaguing the UC
since last fall and regarding the hiring of her partner for a
senior executive position at the UC Office of the President as part
of Denton’s compensation package.

There is plenty of time to discuss the $600,000 in university
funds used to renovate the chancellor’s residence on campus
since Denton took office in February 2005 as well as other actions
that have drawn criticism. But we must not let current controversy
overshadow Denton’s accomplishments.

She had already proven herself to be an innovator in university
administration. As dean of the University of Washington’s
College of Engineering in 1996, she replaced eight of the 10
chairmen in her first year as part of a plan to bring new life to
the college. She was also successful at fundraising, a trait that
some hoped she would use as part of her mission to bring UC Santa
Cruz to the next level.

At UC Santa Cruz, Denton planned to create a more unified campus
by bringing together its tradition of social justice with
innovation in the sciences.

As we search for our next chancellor ““ and UC Santa Cruz
theirs ““ we should take pause to remember the work of past
leaders.