A Pasadena city manager will serve as the next administrative vice chancellor effective March, UCLA officials announced in a statement Friday.
Michael Beck has operated Pasadena’s $685 million budget and manages city departments, such as the fire, police, public works and transportation departments, since the beginning of his term as city manager in October 2008.
As administrative vice chancellor, Beck will oversee UCLA Housing and Facilities Management and coordinate efforts to improve campus infrastructure. He is also tasked with developing campus policies related to day-to-day operations and monitoring compliance to existing policies.
Beck’s office will have an annual operating budget of approximately $625 million and manage more than 4,400 employees. Beck will have an annual base salary of $360,000, according to UCLA spokesperson Phil Hampton.
An advisory committee headed by Steve Olsen, chief financial officer and the interim administrative vice chancellor, appointed Beck to the position, according to the statement. Olsen served as the interim administrative vice chancellor after Jack Powazek, former administrative vice chancellor, retired in June.
As the manager of Pasadena, Beck developed a five-year fiscal plan during Pasadena’s financial recession. The city spent about $670 million to improve the city’s infrastructure and $180 million to renovate the Rose Bowl during his tenure, said Scott Waugh, executive vice chancellor and provost.
Pasadena Mayor Terry Tornek credited Beck for bringing Pasadena out of the Great Recession, according to the Pasadena Star-News. Beck’s tenure as city manager has faced controversy since January, when Pasadena’s public works and finance directors were fired after the city lost $6.5 million in an embezzlement scheme, the Star-News reported.
Hampton declined to comment on whether the scheme affected Beck’s appointment.
Before becoming the Pasadena city manager, Beck was in charge of economic development and supporting new initiatives at UC Riverside.
Compiled by Rupan Bharanidaran, Bruin reporter.