As Henry Yang prepares to end his tenure as chancellor at UC Santa Barbara, his on-campus home is set to get renovated while his successor lives in a nearby rented house.  

There has been no major work done on the University House during Yang’s 30-year residency, other than periodic maintenance, according to Stett Holbrook, spokesperson for UC Office of the President. 

The University House is at 314 Channel Islands Road on the UCSB campus next to the Centennial House and across from the Santa Cruz residential hall. The home houses the chancellor and chancellor’s family. 

According to a report to the UC Regents Governance Committee, the 1964 house is mostly in its original condition and hasn’t been updated. The electrical, heating and plumbing services need to be modernized, and the doors and windows need to be replaced. 

Holbrook said these items identified for repair or replacement are standard updates for systems that have reached the end of their useful life cycle.

The house is a single story with three bedrooms, four full bathrooms, two half baths, a study and a work room. 

While the house is renovated for approximately a year and a half, the UC Regents, governing board for the UC system, approved temporary housing for the incoming UCSB chancellor, who has yet to be named. 

The temporary housing can’t exceed a monthly rent of $25,000 and has to be near campus. 

Nathan Brostrom, executive vice president and chief financial officer for UC, said UCSB has an existing house for sale that could be used to house the new chancellor at no cost, but the university hasn’t yet signed off on using it.

Chancellor housing made major news in the 1980s when former UCSB Chancellor Robert Huttenback was convicted of embezzling more than $100,000 from the university to make improvements to his off-campus home, according to a Los Angeles Times Article.

Huttenback was reportedly living off campus because he insisted the University House was unsuitable for family living. Apparently he also found his own home unsuitable because he used university funds, and employees, to remodel the kitchen and purchase furnishings.

Huttenback was ordered to pay a $60,000 fine, serve five years of probation and perform 1,000 hours of community service. He resigned as chancellor in July 1986 when his financial dealings made headlines, according to the Los Angeles Times. He died in June 2012.

According to the Chancellor Search page, Yang’s successor was expected to be selected between February and March. When asked for an update on the search, and timeline for the incoming chancellor to be announced, Holbrook said they had no information. 

Yang is stepping down at the end of the school year after 30 years as chancellor, making him the longest-serving chancellor in University of California history. He will stay local as a UCSB professor and researcher.

Regents Chair Janet Reilly acknowledged Yang’s departure at the Wednesday meeting, saying he was the definition of a servant leader. 

“Someone who in his record tenure has become a beloved part of the Gaucho community as he has led UCSB to new heights of innovation and reputation,” Reilly said. 

UC President Michael Drake, who is stepping from his role after five years, celebrated Yang’s accomplishments in expanding campus research and student facilities. 

“It’s hard to imagine UC Santa Barbara without Henry and Dilling Yang at the helm,” Drake said on Wednesday. “So great has been their influence on that campus. Henry will soon return to the faculty in UCSB’s mechanical engineering department, but over the decades Henry led UC Santa Barbara through a trajectory of growth and excellence.”

James Milliken, chancellor of the University of Texas system, will take over for Drake on Aug. 1.