UCLA students see campus as a place to eat and live, rather than just somewhere to learn.

The person at the center of those experiences for the past 19 years has been Pete Angelis, UCLA’s associate vice chancellor for housing & hospitality. Angelis – who oversaw a significant expansion in UCLA Housing capacity and prepared UCLA to host the 2028 Olympic Village – will be retiring in June, Administrative Vice Chancellor Michael Beck announced in an email to UCLA leadership and housing and hospitality staff Thursday.

Angelis, who was hired after working at Hilton Hotels and has spoken to The Bruin more than a dozen times since arriving at the university in 2007, agreed Thursday evening to speak about his achievements and memories.

However, Angelis’ assistant canceled the interview Friday morning, shortly after UCLA Media Relations discovered The Bruin planned to interview him.

The assistant said there would be no opportunity to speak to Angelis – even for five minutes – until at least Feb. 26 and even then, he would be busy with acquisition meetings. A UCLA associate vice provost also canceled an interview about Angelis shortly after the UCLA spokesperson reached out asking for interview questions.

Gareth James, the incoming dean of the UCLA Anderson School of Management, also agreed to an interview with The Bruin but said he would no longer be able to do so after speaking to a university communications officer. UCLA Media Relations similarly said Jonli Tunstall, the new director of the Academic Advancement Program, could not conduct an in person or over-the-phone interview, and delayed sharing written responses from her for over three weeks.

Angelis’ cancellation also follows UCLA announcing the departure of Stephen Agostini, the former chief financial officer and vice chancellor, days after he alleged that UCLA administrators have mismanaged finances in an interview with The Bruin that occurred without UCLA Media Relations’ involvement.

[Related: Editorial: Agostini’s departure after interview with The Bruin shows UCLA punishes transparency]

Under Angelis, UCLA expanded its housing capacity from having room for 9,500 students to hosting more than 25,000 people, Beck said in his email. The university also became the first UC campus to implement a four-year housing guarantee for incoming freshmen under Angelis’ leadership.

As part of his work, Angelis also oversees UCLA Dining, which has the top ranked campus food system for seven years, according to Niche.com.

Although UCLA has opened several new dining halls under Angelis’ leadership and brought in food trucks as part of its on-campus dining provision, the services are not without their criticism, including most recently for approaches to allergies and a pest outbreak. Throughout those challenges, Angelis has listened to students’ concerns, said Al Ferrone, UCLA’s senior director of food and beverage.

“He’s been just a wonderful person to be around, provided great leadership, really compassionate person,” Ferrone said. “His biggest concern was making sure the students were well taken care of.”

Angelis was pivotal in finding areas of collaboration between UCLA and ASUCLA, including opening the Epicuria at Ackerman dining hall in Ackerman Union, said Pouria Abbassi, ASUCLA’s chief executive officer, in an emailed statement.

Dr. Wendelin Slusser, the associate vice provost for the Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center who canceled her interview, later said in an emailed statement that Angelis has also co-led the EatWell Pod – which researches and teaches about healthy eating at the Semel HCI – with compassion and humility. She added that Angelis was responsible for selling healthier vending machine food and placing pianos on the Hill.

[Related: It’s their forte: For many, Hill pianos are the key for stress relief]

Amy Rowat, who co-leads the EatWell pod with Angelis, added that he was instrumental in introducing healthy eating initiatives at UCLA Dining, including opportunities to teach students about cooking sustainably.

“He’s the epitome of efficiency and just getting stuff done,” said Rowat, a professor of integrative biology and physiology. “He was a really great model and role model for me on how to lead a team really effectively, but in a really human way. He’s so kind and pathic and that really made a big difference.”

[Related: The Quad: Bruins savor taste of UCLA’s No. 1-ranked dining hall food]

Angelis was one of the first campus leaders to model a sustainability focus, serving on the Campus Sustainability Committee and piloting plant-based menus, sustainability competitions and composting programs, said Nurit Katz, UCLA’s chief sustainability officer, in an emailed statement.

He has also been involved in UCLA’s interactions with key sports stakeholders.

Angelis toured members of the International Olympic Committee around the Hill in advance of campus being chosen as the 2028 Olympic Village and now sits on the LA28 Coordination Committee.

Angelis is also UCLA’s representative on the board of the Rose Bowl’s parent company amid controversy over the university’s proposed move to SoFi Stadium. Rose Bowl Stadium CEO Jens Weiden said in an emailed statement that Angelis has been a valuable contributor to the board and that the stadium’s leadership wish him the best.

[Related: Lawsuit accuses UCLA of trying to move home football games to SoFi Stadium]

Aside from his student-facing work, Angelis oversees the University Club and UCLA’s hotels – including the UCLA Lake Arrowhead Lodge, The Inn at UCLA and the Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference Center, the development and opening of which he oversaw. Angelis said in a 2019 letter to The Bruin that he runs the spaces to generate money for UCLA, with his LinkedIn boasting that he oversees annual revenues of over $550 million.

Beck paid tribute to Angelis’ personal qualities in his email – which was sent through UCLA Strategic Communications’ mass-messaging platform. The university will be searching for Angelis’ successor over the coming months, Beck said.

“I will miss Pete’s creative and entrepreneurial mindset, his strategic perspective, and his ability to see around corners — anticipating challenges and opportunities alike — while pushing ideas forward in ways that propelled the university ahead of its peers,” Beck said in the email. “He possesses a rare combination of sharp business instincts and genuine warmth.”

Contributing reports from Delilah Brumer and Natalia Mochernak, Daily Bruin staff.