Several members of the Board of Regents said Thursday they were puzzled by Drake's decision, adding that they believe Chemerinsky's appointment would not have been blocked by the 26-member body.
Gerald Parsky, former chairman of the Board of Regents, and Richard Blum, the current chairman, were contacted by Drake in late August before the UCI chancellor had reached a final decision about the hiring.
Blum was in the Middle East on Thursday and unavailable for comment, but Parsky said Drake briefed him about the search process in that phone call and told him he was leaning toward Chemerinsky. Drake "did not ask my opinion on Chemerinsky and I did not provide it," Parsky said.
"The regents support academic freedom and the right of the chancellor to decide on the hiring of a dean based on the academic needs and goals of his individual campus, and the regents do not interfere with these matters," Parsky said. "And I do not believe we did in this case at all."
Chemerinsky's appointment did not initially appear to be controversial.
Under UC procedures, the authority to select a dean falls to the chancellor, and the candidate is not subject to approval by the regents, a university spokesman said. The regents are required to approve any salaries above $205,000. The board was scheduled to consider Chemerinsky's salary at an upcoming meeting because the sum would have been above that threshold.
Regent John Moores said the chance that any regent knew about Chemerinsky's hiring as dean and sought to intervene was "as close to zero as anything can get."
Moores noted that people might speculate on what the Board of Regents would do in a certain situation. But he said that doesn't mean that any of the regents have actually weighed in. "It's awfully easy to hide behind the notion that the regents might not approve this," he said.
Regents Moores, Sherry L. Lansing and Judy Hopkinson, and Michael Brown, chairman of the UC system's Academic Senate and a non-voting member of the Board of Regents, all said they knew of no opposition that would arise when the salary came up for approval at their meeting next week.
State Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez, a regent, condemned Drake's decision.
Joan Irvine Smith, the heiress to the James Irvine land fortune who donated $1 million to the law school through her foundation, said she was surprised by the news that Chemerinsky's appointment had been withdrawn.
