SAN FRANCISCO ― The chancellor of the University of California, Davis says politics are driving a state decision to put her on paid leave amid an uproar over her service on corporate boards and the school’s hiring of image consultants after campus police used pepper spray against protesters.
Melinda Guzman, an attorney for Chancellor Linda Katehi, called the action by UC President Janet Napolitano unjustified.
“This smacks of scapegoating and a rush to judgment driven purely by political optics, not the best interests of the university or the UC system as a whole,” Guzman said in a statement late Wednesday.
Napolitano, the head of the statewide University of California system, announced earlier Wednesday that she plans to appoint an independent investigator to examine the “serious and troubling” questions raised involving Katehi and to determine if they violated university policies.
In the meantime, Napolitano has removed Katehi from the post she has held for nearly seven years until the inquiry is completed. Campus provost Ralph Hexter will fill the post on an acting basis.
“I am deeply disappointed to take this action,” Napolitano said in her statement. “But Davis is a strong campus, nationally and internationally renowned in many academic disciplines. I’m confident of the campus’s continued ability to thrive and serve California students and the Davis community.”
Katehi welcomed the independent investigation, the statement from her lawyer said.
