CHANCELLOR DRAKE BIOGRAPHY
Michael V. Drake, M.D., became the fifth 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. Today, more students are seeking a UCI education than ever before, leading to a record incoming undergraduate class of 6,500 in fall 2006. UCI’s connection with the local community continues to deepen, as evidenced by record-breaking fundraising that has topped $100 million in each of the last two years. UCI is pioneering research breakthroughs that are improving – even saving – lives, including stem cell research that has attracted more than $17.5 million from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. UCI is moving ahead rapidly on several initiatives that will strengthen its distinguished reputation, such as building a new hospital at the nationally ranked UC Irvine Medical Center, developing a new law school, and launching new programs in nursing science, pharmaceutical sciences and public health.
Chancellor Drake is an active member of several scientific and scholarly societies. He was elected to the National Academies’ Institute of Medicine in 1998 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2007, is the immediate past national president of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, and is chair of the board of trustees of the Association of Academic Health Centers. Chancellor Drake also has written and spoken extensively on healthcare workforce education and policy.
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 the Gold Headed Cane Society in 2003, received the Legislative Black Caucus Foundation’s Frederick M. Roberts Award and was awarded the 2007 Champions of Health Professions Diversity by The California Wellness Foundation.
Prior to his arrival at UCI, Chancellor Drake served as vice president for health affairs at the University of California, overseeing education and research activities at UC’s 15 health sciences schools. In that capacity, he directed the UC Special Research Programs in tobacco-related disease, breast cancer and HIV/AIDS research; and the California/Mexico Health Initiative.
Chancellor Drake was Steven P. Shearing Professor of Ophthalmology and senior associate dean at the UCSF School of Medicine, his alma mater. 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 four textbooks.
Chancellor Drake and his wife, Brenda, live in Irvine. They have two sons.
