SAN FRANCISCO — After being appointed the first female president of the University of California, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano admitted she might not have been the obvious choice.
But Napolitano said her leadership experience as a cabinet secretary and governor of Arizona had prepared her for leading the 10-campus university system with 240,000 students.
“Let me acknowledge that I am not a traditional candidate for this position,” the 55-year-old Napolitano told UC’s governing board. “I have not spent a career in academia. But that said, I have spent 20 years in public service advocating for it.”
University regents voted Thursday to approve her nomination, despite objections to her record on immigration.
Student regent Cinthia Flores was the only board member to cast a vote against Napolitano, echoing heated remarks from protesters inside and outside the meeting concerned about deportations and other elements of Napolitano’s policies as head of homeland security.
“I grew up in an immigrant household, in an immigrant community,” Flores told the regents. “I can tell you the fear is real.”
Napolitano defended her track record on immigration, saying she has been an advocate for the federal DREAM Act and immigration reform.
