Robert C. Dynes, University of California President Emeritus, died on June 30, 2025. He was 82.
Dynes, a distinguished physicist and former UC San Diego chancellor, was appointed UC’s 18th president, serving from 2003 to 2008. The lifelong champion of education oversaw the opening of UC Merced the first new research university in a generation, and worked to align the University of California’s mission with the needs of California.
He is remembered by many past UC ANR employees for his enthusiastic engagement with them. Dynes struck a collegial spirit with employees he met at UC Office of the President in Oakland, warmly saying, “Call me Bob.”
When then-Vice President Reg Gomes first briefed Dynes, he explained that Dynes’ predecessor Richard “Dick” C. Atkinson had established the President’s Advisory Commission on Agriculture and Natural Resources (PAC) in 1998, a group that comprised leaders from across the state and that Atkinson had made trips around the state to visit “his people” at UC ANR research and education centers and county Cooperative Extension offices.
“In that fashion, the president could both become informed about UC programs and influence in every corner of the state and could demonstrate to rural communities the importance that UC placed on those programs,” Gomes said.
“With a big smile, Bob said, ‘Dick told me that this would be one of the most enjoyable parts of my job, so let’s keep them going.’”
Over the course of his tenure as UC president, Dynes made 13 visits to meet UC Cooperative Extension employees and their clientele in the counties, often joined by local PAC members.
Taking the helm of the university as it faced major budget cuts from the state, Dynes sought to show Californians how they all benefit from UC research, that its education extended beyond campus classrooms.
In a 2008 California Agriculture editorial “UC agriculture programs: Investing in California's Future,” Dynes wrote: “In my 4 years as UC president, I have visited growers from Redding to El Centro. At every stop, I have heard about UC’s importance from family farmers. Half Moon Bay nurseryman Jack Pearlstein told me in 2005, ‘Without UC science, California will no longer be an agricultural state.’ Coachella Valley date grower Albert Keck told me last month, ‘We see UC’s direct impact in agriculture every day.’”
A strong advocate for what he called R, D & D – research, development and delivery – Dynes believed that research results shouldn’t sit on a shelf, that they need to get to people who could apply them to reap a benefit.
“I remember him so well at the PAC meetings constantly engaging the members with questions about California agriculture and always expressing the importance of R, D and D!,” said Don Bransford, Colusa County grower and long-time President’s Advisory Commission member. “He was a remarkable leader, scientist and educator.”
Dynes saw the D for delivery firsthand when he visited UC Cooperative Extension project sites.
“President Dynes was deeply interested in the Cooperative Extension mission,” said Larry Forero, UCCE director in Shasta County. “When he toured Shasta County, his interest in the projects that he saw and how they impacted clientele locally was evident. He truly believed in the importance of connecting California communities with the University of California to solve problems.”
Dynes, who grew up in Ontario, Canada, took pride in retelling UC ANR success stories he heard from farmers he met.
“Dynes, like many good scientists and teachers, possessed an almost limitless curiosity,” recalled Gomes. “He was ready to admit his ignorance of a subject and become a ‘student’ to the county UCCE advisor, the lemon grower or the man in the field packing lettuce for shipping to Japan. The tours, organized by Steve Nation, ANR director of government and external relations at the time, were immensely successful.”
“Bob Dynes had several personal characteristics that made these trips hugely successful,” Gomes said. “He truly loved people. His humility immediately resulted in his acceptance, so discussions were relaxed and collegial. Bob was fun.”
Nation agreed, saying, “His presidency boosted the exposure of ANR within the UC community, while highlighting the many, many ways we make a difference in lives of all Californians. Bob Dynes was the ultimate educator, and his humility immediately put people at ease like no other president I served under.”
At Gomes’ urging, Dynes agreed to deliver the keynote address at the 87th annual meeting of the California Farm Bureau Federation in December 2005.
“I drove Bob and one of his team members to Monterey the day of his appearance before the Farm Bureau,” recalled Nation. “His remarks were a big deal to the delegates. It wasn’t lost on the crowd that he was the first UC president in nearly 50 years to take the time to be there. I think it made ag’s support of ANR even more relevant.”
Dynes gave UC ANR permission to give its members advocacy training to raise legislators’ awareness of ANR in their counties. Whereas previous UC leaders had discouraged contact with legislators, Dynes encouraged employees to inform elected officials of the difference UC’s research and outreach made in their communities – advocacy through education, not lobbying.
“It was an absolute joy to work for Bob Dynes,” Gomes said.
When Gomes retired in 2007, as a retirement gift, Dynes commissioned an oral history at the UC Berkeley Bancroft Library titled “Taking the University to the People,” the story of UC Cooperative Extension. “I considered that a much greater gift than any plaque,” Gomes said. “Even more, think it signified the degree to which he had come to appreciate that part of his university.”
“Bob Dynes touched so many lives personally and professionally. It was one of my career highlights when he appointed me to serve as chancellor of UC Irvine,” said UC President Michael V. Drake, M.D. “His bold vision and unwavering commitment to academic excellence positioned the University for national impact and future success that is still evident today. His legacy will live on through new opportunities for students to access a world-class UC education.”
A memorial celebration to honor Dynes will be held on Sunday, Aug. 3, at 2 p.m. at UC San Diego Conrad Prebys Concert Hall at 9410 Russell Lane in La Jolla. The event will be livestreamed at https://music-cms.ucsd.edu/concerts/dynes_service.html.
Read more about Dyne’s career at https://today.ucsd.edu/story/in-memoriam-robert-c-dynes.
Updated Aug. 4, 2025, to add a quote from Don Bransford.