UPDATED 2:30 p.m. Oct. 19: A celebration of the life of Chancellor Emeritus Larry N. Vanderhoef will be held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4, in Jackson Hall at the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.

For those unable to be there, the service will be carried live on the Web.

TRIBUTES

“He led the campus through the most difficult budget reductions in the '90s, reinvigorated the relationship between the city of Davis and the campus, hired extraordinary faculty and senior staff, and with the Mondavi Center created a lasting legacy for UC Davis and the region. He was both principled and pragmatic, as well as politically astute. No one person has made a greater imprint on what we today know as a very special university, a gem in our region. But his greatest impact may have been on the tone he set for human interaction at the university and our public discourse. No matter who you were, an employee, student, academic colleague, elected official, international honoree, he treated one and all with respect and understanding. That is a legacy we will all need to work hard to continue.”

— Lois Wolk, state senator (and before that a member of the Assembly); and former Davis mayor and City Council member

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"I had frequent meetings with Larry when I was senate chair and nothing dominated our conversations more than the slow and steady erosion of the master plan (California Master Plan for Higher Education). Larry was an educator at his core committed to the undeniable link between education and quality of life and deeply proud of the accomplishments of our alumni.”

— Linda Bisson, professor (she holds the Maynard A. Amerine Endowed Chair in Viticulture and Enology); and former chair, Academic Senate (2006-08 and 2011-12)

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“Larry was definitely ‘one of the good guys’ — he accomplished so much for UC Davis and he always managed to do that in a highly principled way. Working with him was a delight, both personally and professionally, for me and so many others. Larry and Rosalie together have been a powerful force in making a positive difference.”

— Virginia Hinshaw, former provost and executive vice chancellor (2001-07), who left UC Davis to become chancellor of the University of Hawaii at Manoa (2007-12)

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“Working with Larry in an administrative position afforded me opportunities to see him make some difficult decisions. One characteristic that I believe contributed to his effectiveness as a leader was that he appreciated the ‘devil’s advocate’ approach in discussions. Even when he disagreed, he listened, and he made discussants feel that their comments were valued. I repeatedly saw this in his meetings with students, with faculty and with his administrative colleagues.”

— Barbara Horwitz, distinguished professor, Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, and Department of Physiology and Membrane Biology; and former vice provost, Academic Affairs (2001-11), and interim provost and executive vice chancellor (2007-08)

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“Larry Vanderhoef was many things over the course of his richly productive life — a pragmatic visionary, an academic diplomat, a tireless institution builder who devoted himself to realizing the potential of an extraordinary intellectual community. His legacy is reflected today in UC Davis’ status as one of the nation’s leading universities.

— Richard Atkinson, former UC president (1995-2003) and UC San Diego chancellor (1980-95)

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“Larry Vanderhoef was one of those rare leaders in American higher education who approached every challenge with the best interests of students and the community in mind. I had the honor of working with him for more than two decades and can think of no more gracious and elegant leader than Larry. His contributions were enormous and he never sought credit for his good works."

— Brice Harris, chancellor, California Community Colleges (since 2012); and former chancellor, Los Rios Community College District (1997-2012)

Chancellor Emeritus Vanderhoef died the evening of Oct. 15 at the UC Davis Medical Center.  

The UC flag at the Memorial Union is flying at half-staff all week in his memory, and the city of Davis is doing the same with its flags.

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Chancellor Emeritus Larry N. Vanderhoef of the University of California, Davis, died Thursday (Oct. 15) at the age of 74.

His family attributed his death to complications from successive ischemic strokes, starting in November 2012. Since then, as his health permitted, he attended university events, served on multiple university and regional boards, came to his office and finished his memoir, “Indelibly Davis,” which came out last spring.

“Our university has lost a beloved leader, one who gave a quarter-century of his life and more to UC Davis,” said Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi, who succeeded Vanderhoef in 2009 after he stepped down. “He built a strong foundation for our university’s service to the state, nation and world.”

He had served as provost and executive vice chancellor from 1984 to 1994 before becoming UC Davis’ fifth chancellor. He held the post for 15 years, becoming one of the nation’s longest serving university leaders, widely credited as a mentor to UC Davis administrators who would go on to other universities to serve as presidents and provosts.

Ralph J. Hexter, UC Davis provost and executive vice chancellor, said Chancellor Emeritus Vanderhoef left a giant imprint on the university. “The entire UC Davis family will miss Larry and his gracious presence tremendously. We will honor him and his memory best by rededicating ourselves to our mission of teaching, research and public service.”

Midwest modesty

While Vanderhoef led UC Davis with the characteristic modesty of his Midwest roots, there was nothing modest about the university’s achievements during his time in Mrak Hall. The university added students and faculty and facilities, brought in more research funding, rose in the rankings and gained admission to the prestigious Association of American Universities.

Dateline UC Davis June 6, 2008: Vanderhoef announces he will step down as chancellor.

In 2006, Vanderhoef launched the university’s first comprehensive campaign, which would ultimately beat its $1 billion goal.

Even before that, Vanderhoef succeeded in raising the money to build the performing arts center that he had promised in his speech after being inaugurated as chancellor. Today, the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts is the centerpiece of his now-realized vision for a dynamic south entry that didn’t exist when Vanderhoef arrived on campus.

The new entry includes the campus’s second quad, named the Vanderhoef Quad on the occasion of his retirement. 

He and his team also transformed the old Sacramento County Hospital after UC Davis bought it for $1. Today it is the home of the UC Davis Medical Center and School of Medicine, surrounding the Vanderhoef Commons, a quadlike area named after him.

The performing arts center and the hospital each got a chapter of their own in his book, “Indelibly Davis: A Quarter-Century of UC Davis Stories … and Backstories.” Other chapters addressed diversity; no-confidence votes; intercollegiate athletics (and the Aggies’ move to Division I); academic diplomacy in Iran; and tough, principled decision-making (“what my dad would call ‘having starch’ ”).

From pool to professor

He was born in Minnesota and reared in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where as a young man he excelled at playing pool. Eventually, he made what he would come to describe as the best decision of his life: “To get out of the pool hall and into the classroom.”

He was the first in his family to finish high school and one of the few in his factory town to go to college — commuting from home and usually holding down a full-time job.

Drawing on his own experience, he would become an advocate for access to higher education. He expanded partnerships with community colleges; established the “Reservation for College” program for disadvantaged children, encouraging them to stay on track with their education; and partnered with leaders of regional communities of color to raise awareness of UC Davis.

Chancellor Emeritus Vanderhoef held bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and a doctorate in plant biochemistry from Purdue University.

He joined the faculty of the University of Illinois, progressing through the ranks from assistant professor in 1970 to professor and department head in 1977. He was appointed provost at the University of Maryland, College Park, in 1980, and began his career at UC Davis four years later.  

He was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the American Society of Plant Biologists.

He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Rosalie Slifka Vanderhoef; daughter Susanne Vanderhoef; son Jon (Kim) Vanderhoef; sisters Lois (Christian) Krenzke and Linda (Curtis) McDermott; brother Lee (Debbie) Vanderhoef; brothers-in-law Andrew (Mavis) and Ronald (Janet) Slifka; and numerous nieces and nephews.

The family asks of people wishing to make memorial contributions, to please consider either the Larry N. Vanderhoef Scholarship for Study Abroad or the Larry N. Vanderhoef Staff Scholarship. Contributions may be made online or by mail to UC Davis Advancement Services, 1460 Drew Ave., Suite 100, Davis 95618 (checks should be made payable to the UC Davis Foundation, with the scholarship’s name designated on the memo line).

A university memorial service will be announced when plans are confirmed.