Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce that we have selected Darnele Wright as UCSF’s next chief campus counsel and vice chancellor of legal affairs. In this role, she will serve as a member of my Cabinet.

Darnele brings a deep and nuanced understanding of both UCSF and the University of California system. For the past four years, she has served as deputy general counsel under Charlie Robinson at UC Legal, where she oversaw many issues that are relevant to UCSF, such as procurement, finance, intellectual property, investments, charitable giving, real estate, construction, land use, tax, and trusts and estates.

Previously, Darnele served for seven years as UCSF’s deputy campus counsel, supporting both the campus and health enterprises during a time of rapid growth. She worked on issues and complex business transactions involving innovation, domestic and international research activities, university governance, and education.

Darnele is known as a strategic and collaborative leader with broad legal experience in the issues facing higher education. She brings vision and expertise to her role that will support UCSF in this challenging time.

This was a competitive, national search with several outstanding candidates, and I want to thank Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Catherine Lucey for leading the recruitment effort. I also want to thank Chief Campus Counsel Greta Schnetzler for her numerous contributions to the University over the past two decades.

Please join me in welcoming Darnele back to UCSF on May 19. You can read more about her career on UCSF.edu, as well as a tribute to Greta, who is retiring next month.

Sincerely,

Sam Hawgood, MBBS
Chancellor
Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock Distinguished Professor