Chancellor May is known as a highly engaged educational leader with a passion for helping others succeed. He believes success is best judged by how we enhance the lives of others.

Throughout his career, he has championed diversity in both higher education and the workplace. He has successfully developed and led programs to attract, mentor and retain underrepresented women and ethnic minorities in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and math.

In 2015, President Obama honored him with the Presidential Award for Excellence in STEM Mentoring, and in February 2018 he was elected as a member of the National Academy of Engineering––one of the highest honors in the field––for his innovations in educational programs for underrepresented groups in engineering and his contributions to semiconductor manufacturing research.

Gary May became UC Davis’ seventh chancellor in August 2017 after serving as dean of Georgia Tech’s College of Engineering, the largest and most diverse school of its kind in the nation.

His vision is to lead UC Davis to new heights in academic excellence, diversity, public service and upward mobility for students from all backgrounds.

Chancellor May earned his earned his master’s and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering and computer science at UC Berkeley, and has won numerous awards for his research in computer-aided manufacturing of integrated circuits.

He traces his interest in engineering back to his childhood Lego and Erector sets, along with Star Trek and science fiction heroes like Iron Man. He lives in Davis with his wife, LeShelle, a computer engineer, and he continues to read from his collection of comic books––all 13,000 of them.