Arizona Educator Named to No. 2 Position at UCI

Michael R. Gottfredson, vice president of undergraduate education at the University of Arizona, will be UC Irvine’s next executive vice chancellor, the No. 2 position at the school.

Gottfredson will succeed William J. Lillyman, who is retiring after 28 years at UCI as a professor and holder of a variety of administrative positions.

Gottfredson, 49, also is a researcher and writer on crime and the criminal justice system. He has written several books and consulted with county, state and federal governments on criminal justice policy. He will have a teaching appointment in UCI’s department of criminology, law and society.

UCI Chancellor Ralph J. Cicerone called Gottfredson “one of the most talented and intelligent people in American research universities, and we are fortunate to be able to attract him to UCI.”

The new administrator said he took the job at UCI because “it’s a spectacularly good university.”

Gottfredson received his bachelor’s degree from UC Davis, from where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa, and earned his master’s and doctoral degrees in criminal justice from the State University of New York at Albany.

His wife is an elementary school teacher. They have two children.

Gottfredson’s appointment, effective July 17, must be approved by the Board of Regents.