Cheadle, Vernon I. (Vernon Irvin), 1910-1995

Biography

Vernon Irvin Cheadle was the Chancellor of the University of California, Santa Barbara campus from 1962 to 1977. During this time, he oversaw the growth and development of the campus from a small, local college to an internationally recognized university. Cheadle strengthened ties between the university and the surrounding community. He also steered the campus through the turbulent period of protests and riots in the late 1960s and 1970s. As Chancellor, Cheadle made many contributions to UCSB, and he continued to serve the university following his retirement.

Vernon Cheadle was born on February 6, 1910 in Salem, South Dakota, and was raised on a farm. He attended Miami University and graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in botany. He went on to graduate study at Harvard University, earning a Ph.D. in botany in 1936. In the same year, Cheadle began his career by teaching botany at the University of Rhode Island. His research focused on the water conducting cells in plants. During the next 16 years, he was promoted to Professor and Chairman of the Botany Department, as well as director of the Graduate Division. From 1944 to 1946, he served as a lieutenant in the United States Navy in the Pacific. In 1952, Cheadle moved to the University of California at Davis, where he collaborated with Dr. Katherine Esau on studies of the phloem of dicotyledons. He was Chairman of the Botany Department at Davis from 1952 to 1962, and Acting Vice Chancellor from 1961 to 1962.

University of California President Clark Kerr appointed Vernon Cheadle to be Chancellor of the Santa Barbara campus in 1962. During his 15 year tenure, UC Santa Barbara experienced rapid expansion in both its physical campus and its research and academic programs. Twenty-five new buildings were constructed. Student enrollment increased from 5,000 to 13,000 and faculty positions more than doubled. The number of masters degree programs rose from 15 to 42 and Ph.D. programs increased from two to 27. Cheadle's work laid the foundations for UCSB's transformation into a world-class university, recognized by its election to the prestigious Association of American Universities in 1995.

The most difficult period for Chancellor Cheadle came during the years from 1968 to 1975, when sometimes violent student protests erupted over a variety of social and political issues. Cheadle had worked to achieve closer ties between the university and the community of Santa Barbara, but this relationship soured when student protests spilled over from the campus to the streets of Isla Vista and Santa Barbara. The burning of the Bank of America building by protesters in 1970 briefly made Isla Vista one of the most notorious college towns in the country. Cheadle withstood pressure from all sides during this time. He acquiesced to student demands for a Black Studies program and created the first Chicano Studies program in the nation. Thus UCSB emerged from this difficult period strengthened and improved by a more diverse program of studies.

Cheadle retired from the Chancellorship in 1977, but he remained active in campus and community affairs. He returned to his laboratory and continued his botanical research. He assumed the role of elder statesman and counselor to campus leaders. He assisted the university in fund-raising efforts, and served on the boards of local organizations such as the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. Vernon Cheadle died in Santa Barbara on July 23, 1995.

From the guide to the Vernon I. Cheadle Papers, 1925-2000, (University of California, Santa Barbara. Library. Dept. of Special Collections)