Speakers
Gene Block
Chief Executive Officer, UCLA
Dr. Gene Block became chancellor of UCLA in August 2007. As chief executive officer, he oversees all aspects of the university’s three-part mission of education, research, and service. A biologist, he holds faculty appointments in both the UCLA College of Letters and Science and the David Geffen School of Medicine. He also heads a research laboratory funded by the National Institutes of Health.
The priorities Chancellor Block has set for UCLA during his administration include academic excellence, diversity, civic engagement, and financial security. He recently announced an initiative to raise $500 million exclusively for student scholarships and fellowships over the next four years.
Previously, Dr. Block served as vice president and provost of the University of Virginia, where he received the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Outstanding Public Service Award for his work with Virginia’s business community.
Chancellor Block is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has published more than 100 scientific papers, chapters, and reviews. The inventor of a number of devices, he holds a patent for a non-contact respiratory monitor for the prevention of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
He holds degrees from Stanford University and the University of Oregon.