Gary Falle appointed UC associate vice president for federal governmental relations

Acting on the recommendation of President Mark G. Yudof, the University of California Board of Regents today (March 19) confirmed J. Gary Falle as associate vice president for federal governmental relations for the UC system. The appointment is effective March 23.

Falle, 55, is currently the director of national laboratory affairs for the university and was a former chief of staff to the U.S. Secretary of Energy. As associate vice president, Falle will be based in Washington, D.C., and report to the senior vice president for external relations and will have responsibility for systemwide federal governmental relations.

“Gary has an excellent understanding of Washington and how the University of California can contribute to the important policy deliberations in our nation’s capital,” Yudof said. “I am confident that Gary will be a strong voice in Washington for the university and its missions of education, research and public service.”

The associate vice president position is responsible for leading the university’s federal governmental relations office in Washington, D.C., and is senior policy adviser to the regents, president and chancellors. Falle will be responsible for coordinating and implementing the university’s federal relations activities, serving as the lead advocate for UC on federal matters, and working with the campuses and national laboratories in identifying and executing the university’s overall federal agenda. Falle will continue to work closely with the national laboratories providing federal relations advice and counsel.

“The University of California has a strong and successful history of partnering with the federal government to educate students, pursue groundbreaking research and to improve the lives of Californians,” Falle said. “I look forward to working with President Obama’s administration, Speaker Pelosi and the entire California delegation on the important issues facing our nation and the university.”

Prior to joining the university’s federal office in 2005, Falle was the president of Falle Strategies, advising clients, including UC, on a wide range of governmental and public affairs issues focusing on energy and the environment. From 2001-2002, Falle was a director with Kissinger McLarty Associates. From 1997-2001, Falle was with the U.S. Department of Energy where he was principal deputy assistant secretary for congressional and intergovernmental affairs and then chief of staff to U.S. Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson. During his tenure at the department, he managed key initiatives involving energy, energy resources, national security and science programs.

Falle has widespread experience working at the state and local government level. Before joining the federal government, he was appointed state-federal relations director by Ohio Gov. Richard Celeste to represent the states’ interests in Washington, D.C., and worked with Florida Gov. Lawton Chiles on a project to improve government accountability to taxpayers. He also guided legislative efforts on water resource management issues while assistant executive director at the South Florida Water Management District.

An economist by training, Falle was a budget and taxation analyst for the Ohio Legislature and the National Conference of State Legislatures. He earned a B.A. in political science from the University of Dayton and a M.S. in social and applied economics at Wright State University.

As associate vice president, Falle will receive an annual salary of $270,000. Per university policy, he will be eligible to participate in the University Home Loan Program. Falle also will receive standard pension and health and welfare benefits and standard senior management benefits, including senior manager life insurance, executive business travel insurance, executive salary continuation for disability, a monthly contribution of 5 percent of base salary to the senior management supplemental retirement benefit program, and an administrative fund for official entertainment and other purposes that comply with university policy.

The University of California, recognized worldwide for its academic distinction, includes more than 220,000 students, 180,000 faculty and staff, and a $19 billion annual budget at its 10 campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz. UC’s five medical centers support the clinical teaching programs of the university’s medical and health sciences schools and handle more than three million patient visits each year. The university offers programs in more than 150 disciplines, many of which are ranked among the top 10 nationally, and for the last 14 years has generated more patents than any other university in the nation. In addition to managing the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science, the UC system is also involved in managing DOE national laboratories at Livermore and Los Alamos, N.M. For more information on the University of California , visit www.universityofcalifornia.edu .