Embattled UC Irvine Chancellor Michael V. Drake acknowledged that he had "bungled" last week in firing Erwin Chemerinsky as dean of the university's new law school and said he regretted the way he handled the matter.
In an interview with The Times, Drake said he would not discuss why he rescinded his offer to Chemerinsky, an outspoken Duke University law professor and constitutional scholar, because it was a personnel matter that must be kept private.
But the chancellor insisted that his reversal was not prompted by pressure from the UC Board of Regents or anyone else.
"This is certainly something that I bungled, and I regret it completely and totally," he said. "I am always trying to do what I can to enhance the institution and have it move forward. It's awful that all this has blown up like this. I couldn't regret it more."
After Chemerinsky's firing prompted a national uproar, Drake flew to the professor's home in North Carolina over the weekend, talked through his differences with the professor and rehired him Monday.
But the chancellor acknowledged that his incomplete explanation of why he soured on Chemerinsky last week is not likely to mollify his critics.
"The why of it is straightforward, but I think it's going to be unsatisfactory," Drake said. "It was a personnel issue and there are a lot of things that go into that. We as a university have a policy that we don't talk about personnel decisions.
"First, I don't want to talk about it," he added, "but second, it wouldn't be appropriate to do that."
The regents on Thursday approved Chemerinsky's $350,000 salary. Chairman Richard C. Blum called the professor a legal "superstar" and said that recruiting him was a "coup" that could greatly accelerate the creation of an excellent law school at UCI.
Drake's comments to The Times came shortly after he addressed the regents Wednesday behind closed doors during their meeting at UC Davis. He agreed to the interview on the condition that his remarks not be made public until after he met Thursday before an emergency meeting of the UCI Academic Senate.
At that meeting, Drake apologized for not "consulting senior faculty early enough or often enough" in the Chemerinsky matter and for the subsequent fallout. He vowed to establish "a small group of faculty" to advise him on major decisions.
