Henry Yang’s replacement for chancellor of UC Santa Barbara has officially been named.
Dennis Assanis will begin his role as chancellor on Sept. 1, coming from the University of Delaware where he has served as president since 2016.
The UC Regents, the governing board for the UC system, appointed Assanis as Chancellor on Thursday, after months of mystery and speculation over who would be taking over for Yang, who led the university for a record 31 years.
The regents also approved Assanis’ annual base salary as $880,000.
Janet Reilly, chair of the regents, said they conducted a nationwide search that led them to Assanis.
“There (University of Delaware) he spearheaded initiatives to drive transformational growth of the university’s research, scholarship, and innovation enterprises,” Reilly said at Thursday’s meeting.
Under Assanis’ leadership, the University of Delaware’s research expenditures went from $176 million in 2016 to $466 million in 2024.
He also helped create the university’s Science, Technology and Advanced Research (STAR) Campus that is home to the National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals that leads in researching vaccines and pharmaceuticals, according to UCSB.
Assanis is a native of Athens, Greece and got his undergraduate degree in marine engineering at Newcastle University in England and has three masters degrees and a PHD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
“Dr. Assanis is the right person to lead UC Santa Barbara into the future,” said UC President Michael Drake. “His deep understanding of the power of interdisciplinary work combined with his energy, insight and strategic vision will blend perfectly with the excellence of UC Santa Barbara students, faculty and staff as they address the world’s most urgent challenges.”
Assanis announced in May that he would be leaving the University of Delaware.
In May, Spotlight Delaware reported that Assanis was leaving with one year left on his contract after he came under fire from faculty members over the university’s expenditures.
Faculty members reportedly felt that funding for academics were being sidelined in favor of campus construction projects and they wanted to see more accountability from campus leadership.
Yang officially ended his tenure on Monday and UCSB Executive Vice Chancellor, David Marshall is serving as the interim chancellor until Sept. 1.
“I am truly honored and thrilled to serve as the next chancellor of UC Santa Barbara,” Assanis said in a statement. “I am particularly excited about UC Santa Barbara’s exceptional academic reputation, amazing students and boundless potential to be recognized among the top public universities, building on the celebrated achievements of its distinguished faculty and dedicated staff. Fostering a culture of innovation, academic excellence and student success has been my core focus as a public university leader. My wife, Eleni, and I are excited to join the vibrant and welcoming Santa Barbara community.”
