Both the dean and executive associate dean of UC Davis’ College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, perhaps the keystone school on campus, have stepped down from their respective positions at the university.

Dean Neal Van Alfen and Executive Associate Dean Jim D. MacDonald announced their resignations in letters sent Tuesday to Chancellor Linda Katehi and Provost Ralph Hexter.

Van Alfen, whose term as dean would have ended in two years, said the reason for his abrupt departure is the chancellor’s decision to begin her search for his replacement a year earlier than expected.

According to Van Alfen, waiting until the one-year mark to begin a search is standard practice for a university.

“The chancellor informed me she was going to start the search for my replacement this September and I still had two years left of my term,” Van Alfen said Thursday. “I just felt that if she wanted a new dean, I really needed to step down.”

When asked if Katehi explained further why she decided to begin her search early, Van Alfen responded, “We had conversations … she did not give a reason.”

Van Alfen said he had persuaded MacDonald to stay on as executive associate dean until 2013, a year later than he had planned. But MacDonald decided to revive his retirement plans upon learning of Van Alfen’s departure.

“While that is their right (to begin their search), it is an administrative decision that I do not and cannot support,” MacDonald wrote in his letter of resignation. “Because I cannot support this decision by the campus leadership, I believe that the proper course of action for me is to step down from my administrative post.”

Hexter responded to the resignations in an email to the campus community lauding Van Alfen’s 13 years of service at UCD. He did not address the decision to begin looking for a new dean.

“Under (Van Alfen’s) leadership, a reorganization strengthened the college’s core departments, two major academic buildings and numerous smaller research facilities were added to campus and funds were raised to create 14 new endowed chairs and faculty,” Hexter wrote.

“These investments, coupled with the outstanding work of college faculty, have established UC Davis as a global leader in sustainability and related disciplines.

“In short, Neal leaves CAES well poised for further excellence. The college, our oldest, is critical to our core mission and identity as a leading public research university making singular contributions to our state, our nation and the world.”

Van Alfen has volunteered to remain as dean until an interim replacement is found, a process he said should take only a few weeks. He also plans to remain a fixture at the school as a faculty member and will retain many of his global activities.

“This is not how I had hoped to end my tenure as dean,” Van Alfen told The Enterprise. “(But) I think as I indicated in my letter to the faculty, I’m very proud of how the college is right now.”

Hexter said Michael Lairmore, dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine, will chair a recruitment advisory committee to identify a permanent dean of the school.

— Reach Tom Sakash at [email protected] or (530) 747-8057. Follow him on Twitter @TomSakash

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