Ohioan Named New VC Admin

After a national search, lawyer and educator Sandra A. Drabik has been appointed UCSB's new vice chancellor, administrative services. She is expected to assume her new duties in mid-July, pending approval of her appointment by UC President Richard Atkinson and the Board of Regents.

With experience in both higher education and state government, Drabik is currently vice president for administrative services and general counsel at the University of Toledo. She previously served several years in the cabinet of former Ohio Gov. George V. Voinovich (currently a U.S. senator) as director of the Department of Administrative Services, where she oversaw 1,050 employees and a budget of $2 billion.

"I am delighted that Sandra Drabik will be our new vice chancellor of administrative services," said Chancellor Henry T. Yang. "The breadth of her experience in higher education and government, and the administrative skills that she has demonstrated in many different contexts, all combine to make her an ideal candidate for this important position at UCSB."

"I am very excited to have been selected for this position at UC Santa Barbara, and I look forward to the opportunities and challenges that such a dynamic institution offers," said Drabik. "I'm eager to meet my new colleagues and to begin working with the entire campus community."

Positions held by Drabik earlier in her career included vice president of Grant Medical Center, special assistant for legal affairs at the Ohio State University Hospitals, and general counsel for the Ohio Office of Budget and Management. An alumna of Ohio State University, she also taught health services management and policy there.

The chair of the Search Advisory Committee, Aaron Ettenberg, acting provost of the College of Letters and Science, said the panel was impressed by her background. "What we found particularly exciting was her high level of experience in state government, including in the offices that handle budget requests from state universities," he said. "We thought that such experience would go a long way in helping UCSB maintain its course and formulate effective plans for the future."

Drabik is "a talented person with impeccable credentials" who is "loaded with energy and enthusiasm," said chemist Richard Watts, chair of the Academic Senate and a member of the search committee.