BERKELEY (KRON)—UC Berkeley announced Tuesday Chancellor Nicholas Dirks will step down.
“I have come to the personal decision that the time is right for me to step aside and allow someone else to take up the financial and institutional challenges ahead of us,” Dirks wrote in his resignation letter.
Dirks will step down once a successor is picked, UC Berkeley said in a statement.
He has been the chancellor of the school since June 2013 after being approved by the UC Board of Regents.
The Office of the President is looking for someone to replace him.
“The research done at Berkeley is second to none, and it has been exhilarating to learn about the breadth and depth of the research our faculty conducts across every discipline and field,” Dirks wrote.
During his time at UC Berkeley, Dirks worked to improve policies relating to sexual violence and harassment. He was able to sustain academics at the school despite the budget deficit, the school said.
UC President Janet Napolitano released a statement after the announcement was made.
“We will immediately form a committee to begin a global search for the new chancellor, and Chancellor Dirks intends to stay on until a new successor is named and in place,” Napolitano said.
“We seek nothing less than an individual of the highest caliber to lead Berkeley, widely and correctly regarded as the finest public research university in the world. UC Berkeley, and the University of California, deserve nothing less.”
Details about when UC will pick the next chancellor of the campus is not available at this time.