BY KAREN MACK
UCLA Today
Daniel M. Neuman, dean of the School of the Arts and Architecture, is Chancellor Albert Carnesale's choice as UCLA's next executive vice chancellor. Carnesale announced on May 1 that Neuman, an ethnomusicologist and anthropologist, will assume his new post on July 1, pending the UC regents' approval.
"This is an extraordinary opportunity to work with Chancellor Carnesale, to build and move UCLA forward in ways that are exciting, even in the face of budgetary challenges," Neuman said. "I have a clear goal, and that is to enhance the excellence of this great university."
Neuman's appointment culminates a four-month search for a successor to Executive Vice Chancellor Wyatt R. Hume, who is leaving UCLA to become vice chancellor and president of the University of New South Wales in his native Australia.
"Dan Neuman will be a superb addition to UCLA's senior leadership team," Carnesale said. "He has impeccable credentials as a teacher, an academic administrator and a scholar. I look forward to working with him to sustain and enhance the excellence of UCLA's academic enterprise."
It was conversations with Carnesale and Hume that fueled Neuman's interest in a position he initially regarded as "overwhelming" because of the breadth of responsibilities involved. "They gave me a sense of what the position entailed," Neuman said, "and made me very excited about it."
Neuman will oversee UCLA's wide-ranging programs of teaching, research and service. He will also guide strategic planning and policy development, promote campuswide academic initiatives and define budgetary and development priorities.
Funding issues -- especially the repercussions of the state budget shortfall -- will significantly impact his work as EVC, Neuman said, but he remains optimistic.
"Clearly the budgetary challenges we anticipate in the near term will focus our minds on what we need to do now. But it's important to think about how we will come out of this on the other side of this period, and what we will do not only to maintain excellence, but to enhance it."
Among Neuman's other long-term goals for UCLA is "a more nimble understanding of our engagement with the greater Los Angeles community," as exemplified by the California NanoSystems Institute and the ongoing UCLA in LA initiative. Nicknamed "the techno dean" for his fascination with computing and the Internet and an admitted fondness for machinery, Neuman also will focus on information-technology issues.
The dean described the selection of an EVC from the north campus disciplines as "unusual -- a bold step on the part of the chancellor." Neuman is a distinguished ethnomusicology scholar and prolific author in his field, specializing in the musical traditions of India. Proficient on the sarangi, a bowed instrument of India, he has conducted fieldwork there for the past three decades. He hopes to continue these activities as EVC.
Neuman's interests range from cartography and photography to the music of Bach and the societal role of public gathering places such as coffeehouses and esplanades.
"We need more places where people can engage with one another socially, intellectually and culturally," he said. "UCLA has one of the most beautiful campuses on Earth; we should take advantage of our ecosystem to do more of what we do well -- to think and learn with other people."
As dean for the last five years, Neuman has recruited world-class artists and scholars to the faculty and expanded the school's community-outreach programs. He has assembled a strong Board of Visitors and garnered generous philanthropic support, including major gifts, leading to the Edythe and Eli Broad Art Center and Glorya Kaufman Hall.
"This is an exciting time for me personally," Neuman said, "since universities run through my blood and, in particular, I love this great institution."
