The announcement Wednesday, June 12, that Dr. Julio Frenk will be the next chancellor UCLA has elicited widespread community praise. With a career spanning academia, government and nonprofits, he brings unrivaled expertise and fundraising prowess to the nation’s top-ranked public university.
Frenk joins UCLA from the University of Miami, where he has been president since 2015. He previously served as dean of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and as Mexico’s secretary of health. When he takes the helm as UCLA’s chancellor on Jan. 1, 2025, he will oversee more than 48,000 students, approximately 5,400 faculty members, and the five hospitals and 280 clinics that make up the UCLA Health system.
What they’re saying:
Rep. Ted Lieu
United States congressman
Lieu said Frenk is a renowned “global health expert who admirably led the University of Miami.”
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Rep. Linda Sánchez
United States congresswoman
Sánchez congratulated Frenk “for being appointed as UCLA’s 7th chancellor and the 1st Latino to lead the school,” adding, “I look forward to working together in support of our students.”
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Gene Block
Outgoing chancellor, UCLA
Block said Frenk was “widely respected across academia and well known as an exceptional thinker, an administrator of considerable ability and a brilliant public health leader,” noting that he “will be excellent in the role.”
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UCLA’s Latino Alumni Association
Frenk is a “a distinguished global health leader with an illustrious career.”
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Felipe Calderón
Former president of Mexico
Calderón said that Frenk’s appointment is a source of pride for Mexico: “Qué orgullo para México! Felicidades.”
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Arturo Sarukhan
Former Mexican ambassador to the United States
Sarukhan celebrated the selection, saying “bravo and kudos.”
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Carlos González Gtez
Consul-general of Mexico in Los Angeles
González Gtez congratulated Frenk, calling him a “global health expert.”
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Salomón Chertorivski Woldenberg
Mexico’s former secretary of health
Chertorivski Woldenberg, who currently serves in the Mexican chamber of deputies, called Frenk the most prominent Mexican in public health and higher education, recognized worldwide: “Julio es el mexicano más destacado en salud pública y educación superior, reconocido mundialmente.”
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Fernando Petersen
Secretary of health for Jalisco, Mexico
Petersen stated that Frenk’s appointment serves as a point of pride for other Latinx doctors to have this recognition of Frenk’s leaderships and support for health systems: “Es un orgullo y un referente para los médicos latinos que se reconozca tu liderazgo e impulso a los sistemas de salud.”
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Dr. José Sifuentes Osornio
Director, Mexico’s National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition Salvador Zubirán
Sifuentes Orsonio said Frenk’s leadership will undoubtedly be of great relevancefor Latino health experts around the world: “Su gestión será sin duda de gran relevancia para esta prestigiada casa de estudios.”
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Dr. Peter A. Singer
Former special advisor, World Health Organization
Singer congratulated Frenk, calling his election “great news” for UCLA.
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Prabhat Jha
Director, Centre for Global Health Research
Jha called Frenk’s selection an “inspired choice.”
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Dr. Jash Datta
Surgical oncologist, University of Miami
Datta said Frenk “transformed the U” and that he “admired all he did” at the university.
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Dr. Lin Zhan
Dean, UCLA School of Nursing
Zhan welcomed Frenk to campus, praising his “wealth of expertise in higher education, health, innovative solutions, inclusion & community engagement.”
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Carol Folt
President, University of Southern California
Folt congratulated Frenk and predicted “more collaborations through research, teaching and community.”
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Alberto Carvalho
Superintendent, Los Angeles Unified School District
Carvalho described Frenk’s appointment as “a historic and inspiring moment for us all.”
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Lucrecia Santibañez
Professor, UCLA School of Education & Information Studies
Santibañez said, “Absolutely blown away by this. Julio Frenk was known in Mexico as a level-headed, smart, incredibly well-respected academic and administrator. Incredible CV and experience.”
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Los Angeles Times
“Frenk has also proved to be a prodigious fundraiser, leading a $2.5-billion campaign for the University of Miami’s centennial next year and quadrupling contributions as Harvard’s dean of the school of public health — helping secure a historic $350-million endowment gift,” in addition to bringing “deep expertise in public health, a medical degree and experience as Mexico’s former health minister to the Westwood campus.”
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Forbes
Frenk is “a highly regarded public health researcher” credited with reforming Mexico’s public health system and launching “Seguro Popular, a program that included universal comprehensive health insurance and helped expand access to health care for more than 55 million uninsured people.”
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NBC News
Frenk “helped reform the public health care system with universal health care and expanded access to contraception and family planning” as Mexico's secretary of health.
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USA Today
Frenk is “known for his efforts in fundraising and educational reform,” citing his tenure as dean of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
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ABC LA
Frenk is a “leading global health researcher” and his selection is a “pivotal move for UCLA.”
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NBC LA
“Frenk served as Mexico's Federal Secretary of Health from 2000 to 2006 and was credited with overhauling the nation's health system and expanding care to millions of uninsured people.”
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La Opinión
“El doctor Frenk fue secretario de salud en México de 2000 a 2006, en cuya responsabilidad lanzó el programa Seguro Popular que pretendía proveer cuidado de salud a 55 millones de personas sin cobertura de salud.”
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