George R. Blumenthal is UC Santa Cruz's 10th chancellor. He joined the campus in 1972 as a professor of astronomy and astrophysics.

He was named chancellor on September 19, 2007 after serving as acting chancellor for 14 months (July 14, 2006-September 18, 2007).

His appointment followed many years as a distinguished professor, researcher, and campus leader; he held several key leadership roles in the University of California system, as well. During 2004-2005, Blumenthal served as chair of the UC Academic Senate. He was faculty representative to the UC Regents from 2003 to 2005, and he chaired the UC Santa Cruz division of the Academic Senate from 2001 to 2003. Earlier, he served as department chair of Astronomy and Astrophysics.

Chancellor Blumenthal is well known for his efforts to increase access to the University and for his commitment to diversity among students, staff, and faculty.

In the summer of 2009, UC Board of Regents Chairman Russell Gould selected him to co-chair the "Size and Shape of UC" working group of the UC Commission on the Future. Chairman Gould established the commission to "re-imagine the University of California" and ensure excellence and access, while also addressing acute financial challenges.

Chancellor Blumenthal serves widely on many governing boards in science, technology, and education.

In higher education, Chancellor Blumenthal is a member of the UC Planning Committee for Doctoral and Professional Education, a member of the UC Presidential Task Force for Post Employment Benefits, and chairman of the Joint Graduate Board of the UC and California State University systems. Earlier, he served on the UC Long Range Guidance Committee and the UC Diversity Study Group, where he chaired a subgroup focused on graduate students and postdoctoral scholars.

In the Monterey Bay Area, Chancellor Blumenthal co-chairs the Monterey Bay Educational Consortium.

He is chairman of the California Association for Research in Astronomy's W. M. Keck Observatory on the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii, and he is a member of the California Council on Science and Technology. He is also a member of the board of directors of BASIC, the Bay Area Science and Technology Consortium, and serves on the UC president's Board on Science and Innovation, representing QB3, the California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences.

In Silicon Valley, Chancellor Blumenthal is chairman of University Associates - Silicon Valley LLC, chair of the Silicon Valley Higher Education Roundtable, and a board member of the high-tech industry organizations Silicon Valley Leadership Group and Joint Venture Silicon Valley.

As a theoretical astrophysicist, Chancellor Blumenthal investigates the origin of structure in the universe, such as galaxies and clusters of galaxies, and the role that dark matter plays in the formation and evolution of this structure. He also studies related cosmological issues, such as the generation of density fluctuations during an early inflationary phase of the universe. He has studied gamma-ray bursts, accretion disks, and active galactic nuclei. He is a co-author of the astronomy text "21st Century Astronomy."

He earned his bachelor of science at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee and his Ph.D. in physics at the University of California, San Diego.

He is married to Kelly Weisberg, a professor of law at UC Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. They have two children.