UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi Resigns

WEST SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - Embattled UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi has announced her resignation amid controversy.

Katehi made the resignation public Tuesday via a letter, which reads, in part:

"…at this time, and for the benefit of our campus and my family, I have decided to resign my position as Chancellor and to assume my role as a tenured faculty member with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and with the Interdisciplinary Program of Gender, Sexuality and Women Studies."

Click here to read Katehi's full statement

The Univeristy of California says system president Jane Napolitano accepted Katehi's resignation and it is effective immediately.

Katehi was placed on administrative leave earlier this year for allegedly violating University of California policies that include compensation for some of her immediate family members employed by the campus and improper use of student funds, actions university administrators say demonstrated "poor judgment."

Read the UC's full statement, here.

Ralph Hexter, who has been serving as the acting chancellor, will remain chancellor in the interim.

She was also under fire for joining the boards of a textbook publisher and a for-profit university. UC Davis students held a five-week sit-in at the chancellor's office that ended last week to demand her resignation.

In March, Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, called Katehi's decision to accept seats on the boards of textbook publisher John Wiley & Sons and for-profit college company DeVry Education Group "unseemly" and called for her resignation.

"Chancellor Katehi receives a taxpayer and tuition-funded salary of $424,360. It is unseemly for the chancellor to be moonlighting side deals to fatten her bank account, especially when it runs contrary to the interests of our students," he said in a statement.

He said with today's resignation, the university can now move forward.

"With the resignation of Chancellor Linda Katehi, a sad chapter in UC's history has come to an end.  UC Davis can now move forward and be known for what they're best at: rigorous academics, world class research, an innovative medical center in Sacramento, and an active student body."

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom had also called for her resignation.

Katehi will now return to be a faculty member at UC Davis, as stipulated in the terms of her contract.

Melinda Guzman, Katehi's attorney, also released a statement on Tuesday, writing:

"Chancellor Katehi is forever grateful to the many who have supported her as Chancellor, or as a colleague, in addition to the many members of the UC Davis Academic Senate, UC Davis Foundation Board, Alumni Board and members of the Davis and greater Sacramento community. She believes in the vision of UC Davis, and looks forward to her continued service to the campus now and in the future."