So, like, this dude James B. Milliken, who was in charge of the University of Texas and had to deal with GOP stuff, is now gonna be the big boss at the University of California. The UC Board of Regents announced his appointment on Friday. And let me tell you, things are pretty tense right now with all this talk about Trump trying to get rid of “woke” and “Marxist” ideas in higher education. Plus, he’s cutting money for important research at universities. What a bummer, right?

Anyway, Milliken is taking over from Michael V. Drake, who’s been running the show since 2020 and is stepping down at the end of July. The UC system is a big deal, known for being a top research university. Milliken seems excited to join the team and help out with education, research, and health care for Californians. He’s all about giving opportunities to low-income and first-gen students, supporting diversity, and making sure students get good jobs after they graduate.

Before coming to Texas, Milliken was running the City University of New York for a few years. He’s been in the education game for a long time, starting in Nebraska and then moving on to North Carolina. Oh, and he used to be a lawyer on Wall Street. Fancy, right?

In August, Milliken will officially become the head honcho at UC, overseeing a huge operation with hundreds of thousands of students, faculty, and staff across 10 campuses. He’s got a tough job ahead, what with all the investigations and threats from the Trump administration. And on top of that, California might be cutting the budget for higher education. Yikes!

But hey, at least Milliken is getting a nice paycheck — $1.475 million, to be exact. Not too shabby. And he seems like a good fit for the job, according to Janet Reilly, the regents chair. She thinks he’s the right person to lead UC through these challenging times.

Speaking of challenges, UC has been under fire lately for a bunch of stuff. Trump is investigating them for supposed antisemitism and illegal race-based practices. And let’s not forget about the budget cuts — losing money left and right is not fun for anyone.

Milliken doesn’t seem to have a problem with Trump, unlike some other folks in the education world. He’s more focused on getting things done and helping students succeed. In Texas, he’s done some cool stuff like setting up a big endowment for low-income students and launching a mental health initiative. Not too shabby, right?

But not everyone is a fan of Milliken. Some people think he’s too focused on cutting costs and not doing enough to support diversity and inclusion. And let’s not forget about that time he closed a bunch of diversity offices in Texas. Not a good look, dude.

Overall, it seems like Milliken has his work cut out for him at UC. But hey, maybe he’ll surprise everyone and turn things around. Who knows? But hey, what do I know? I’m just a new grad journalist trying to make sense of it all.