September 28, 2006
Dear Colleagues:
I write to inform you that Executive Vice Chancellor/Provost Daniel Neuman has accepted the post of Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of The New Center for Arts and Culture in Boston, Massachusetts. His last day at UCLA will be December 31, 2006.
A noted anthropologist who has advanced significantly the field of ethnomusicology, Dan has been an esteemed member of the UCLA family for just over a decade, and his impact will be felt for decades to come.
As the second-ranking UCLA official, Dan has played a critical leadership role in guiding the campus through a severe budget crisis, and in helping to ensure that UCLA maintained its excellence and emerged in sound fiscal health, poised to continue its role as one of the world’s great research universities.
Dan’s tenure as Dean of UCLA’s School of the Arts and Architecture was marked by creative vision and entrepreneurial spirit. Under his guidance, UCLA Arts was transformed into one of the world’s premier centers for arts practice, teaching and scholarship, as well as groundbreaking public exhibitions and performances.
The new Eli and Edythe Broad Art Center, and Glorya Kaufman Hall, which opened last year, mark the beginning of a new age in performance venues and interdisciplinary environments and stand as lasting legacies to Dan’s far reaching vision and astute leadership.
Dan will now bring his creative intellect, active imagination and erudition to the development of a magnificent new institution to be located on Boston’s Rose Kennedy Greenway and to its establishment as a center of innovation, vibrancy and contemporary thought. No one is more qualified than Dan to carry this out.
Please join me in expressing gratitude to Dan for his outstanding service to UCLA and in wishing him great success in this new venture.
Within a reasonably short time, I plan to appoint an Acting Executive Vice Chancellor/Provost to serve, beginning January 1, 2007, until a permanent occupant of the position is named. I plan to consult regarding this acting appointment with the Academic Senate leadership (i.e., the Chair, Vice Chair and past Chair of the Senate), who have graciously agreed to provide advice in the matter.
Sincerely,
Norman Abrams
Acting Chancellor