Miami President Julio Frenk Named UCLA Chancellor

The UC Regents have selected another chancellor with a health background to lead the Westwood campus.

University of Miami President Julio Frenk (second from right) has been named as the next Chancellor of UCLA. (Photo Credit: Julio Frenk)

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Here at The Mighty Bruin, our focus has always been on UCLA Athletics. We rarely delve into other UCLA-related topics. Although I have extremely strong opinions about the turmoil which has occurred on our beloved campus over the past month and a half, TMB has not discussed what has occurred — and we will continue to stay away from that because it is not related to the topic of UCLA Athletics, or at least it hasn’t crossed into that world as of yet.

However, the retirement of Gene Block and the selection of a new chancellor to lead the best university in the world do crossover into that territory because the chancellor is the top decision-maker in Westwood and he plays a role in making sure that the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics continues its tradition of excellence.

For that reason, the selection of Julio Frenk as UCLA’s next chancellor is significant. Frenk comes to UCLA from the University of Miami, having led the school since 2015. As an aside, Miami may be one of the few campuses in the country which may be more beautiful than our own, but the year-round humidity there certainly detracts from that.

And, of course, we all know the indisputable fact that Melsby was down.

But that happened well before Frenk was named Miami’s president. So, I digress.

Frenk will begin his tenure as UCLA chancellor in January and Executive Vice Chancellor Darnell Hunt will serve as interim chancellor from Block’s departure at the end of July until Frenk arrives.

The big questions, of course, are: What is UCLA getting in the next chancellor? And, how will he affect UCLA Athletics?

Teresa Watanabe of the LA Times writes that Frenk “will bring deep expertise in public health, a medical degree and experience as Mexico’s former health minister to the Westwood campus.” After Gene Block’s tenure, that might immediately trigger Battered Bruin Syndrome for many when it comes to answering the second question. I know it left me concerned.

The fact that Frenk is 70 certainly seemed concerning, given that Chancellor Block is only five years older. Indeed, it may turn out that Chancellor-designate Frenk’s tenure may be the shortest one of a permanent chancellor since Chancellor Vern Knudsen’s served a short one-year term from 1959 to 1960. But only time will tell how long Frenk will lead UCLA.

Of course, the more important question to Bruin fans is how will his appointment affect UCLA sports. With respect to that, we really need to look at how Frenk has addressed the issues with Hurricane Athletics.

On that end, I am happy to report that Frenk seems to have understanding of the role that an athletic department plays at an institution of higher learning.

In the respect, Frenk received a baptism by fire at Miami where the media had started calling out his lack of involvement in the Canes’ football program. Back in 2021, Frenk issued a statement pledging to increase his involvement. According to an article on Local10.com, Frenk’s statement read:

To Our University of Miami Family and Hurricanes Fans Everywhere, The University of Miami is an institution dedicated to the pursuit of excellence.

As our football team gets ready to kick off conference play this evening, I want to make clear that the Board of Trustees and I, as president, recognize the essential part of our brand and reputation derived from athletics and we are fully committed to building championship-caliber teams at the U.

Earlier this week, at the State of the University Town Hall, I reiterated that our beloved U sits at the crosssection of the two sectors most disrupted by the pandemic: higher education and health care. Intercollegiate athletics, which is a key component of higher education for student-athletes and fans alike, is undergoing similar disruption.

From my arrival here, I underscored that with respect to athletics our devotion must be first and foremost to our student-athletes, whose considerable talent we have a duty to develop both on and off the field. Of the student-athletes who compete across the NCAA, only 2 percent move on to play their sports professionally. Part of what draws student-athletes to the U is that Miami Hurricanes have, over the years, had a stronger likelihood of success on that path than many of our competitors.

We are proud of their achievements and at the same time recognize our duty to prepare student-athletes for success in all spheres of life. For a generation, the U has been recognized as one of the preeminent programs in college athletics. We have won 21 team national championships, including five in football. We are committed to honoring the legacy of those championship teams and of the student-athletes, coaches, and support personnel who have built that proud ‘Canes tradition—a tradition that is woven into the very fabric of South Florida.

At the U, time and again, we have proven that excellence in academics and excellence in athletics are not mutually exclusive. I am grateful to our student-athletes, athletics director, his team, and the entire Hurricanes coaching staff for their dedication, and to our fans for their unceasing passion and loyalty. We are one U in our pursuit of winning—on the field and in life. Go Canes!

That was nearly three years ago.

Now, of course, I chuckled a little bit when I read the line about 21 national championships, and subtracted the five football titles because those were all mythical titles with no game or playoffs to determine those national championships. And, so I thought, “How quaint. Miami has won 16 NCAA titles.”

Of course, you could argue that the statement was probably written by some PR flack, but at the very least Frenk had to sign off on it.

Rather than being cynical, I’m choosing to some optimism that his experience with the Hurricanes has taught Frenk the lesson that sports are an important part of the collegiate experience.

After all, I’ve long argued that an athletic department is the de facto marketing arm of a college or university.

Remembering back to when I was in high school and colleges started sending me all sorts of mailers trying to get me to come to a particular school, I recall that there was mailed from institutions like what was then-known as Simon’s Rock of Bard College, a small private liberal arts college located in Barrington, Massachusetts, a school I had never heard of before and never considered attending, or even visiting. But when the University of Miami invited me to their “scholar’s weekend” in my senior year, I applied and, after my parents allowed me to fly to Florida by myself to visit the school for the weekend, I returned home with not only an admission letter, but a half-ride academic scholarship offer from the school. If they had only offered me a full ride instead, I might have been the one writing this article on StateOfTheU.com about President Frenk leaving Miami for Westwood.

In fact, that article from SBNation’s Miami blog may make Bruin fans even more hopeful. Robert Weaver points out that Frenk has been good for Miami athletics. He writes:

From a sports perspective, Frenk may be most remembered for his 2021 decision to fire then Athletic Director Blake James and then head football coach Manny Diaz, and to hire away Dan Radakovich from Clemson and Mario Cristobal from Oregon as UM’s new athletic director and head football coach, respectively. Both came at a high price tag, much more than Miami historically was willing to spend on athletic department leadership. In order to afford Radakovich and Cristobal, Frenk reportedly dipped into UHealth profits to fund the new hires.

I don’t think any of us could possibly imagine Gene Block dipping into profits from UCLA Health to help pay for Dan Guerrero’s budget deficits. It may be a tad too optimistice to suggest that maybe Frenk will opt to pay off the low interest loan Block gave the Athletic Department with profits from UCLA Health, but one can always hope.

The article goes on to mention how Miami has seen “significant infrastructure improvements” during Frenk’s tenure.

But the last paragraph may be the most telling as far as how Frenk’s chancellorship will affect Bruin fans.

Hurricanes sports fans will miss President Frenk….UMiami opened its wallet more so than ever to improve its athletic department. That’s all fans and alumni can ask for, and more than what Miami had historically done.

So, multiple sources seem to indicate that Frenk understands the importance of collegiate athletics in running a major university. At least right now, that’s all that Bruin fans and alumni can ask for, and it’s more than UCLA has had during Gene Block’s tenure.

I also happened to check out Frenk’s X (formerly Twitter) account. I was happy to see that not only are his tweets his own, but also that he seems to be a fixture at Hurricane football games. So, that’s another good indicator that he may be a great choice to represent the Four Letters.

University of Miami President and UCLA Chancellor-designate Julio Frenk poses for a selfie at a Hurricane football game. (Photo Credit: Julio Frenk)

Welcome to Westwood, Chancellor-designate Frenk!


Go Bruins!!!

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