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Daniel M. Dooley (Click photo for high-resolution image.)

Daniel M. Dooley named vice president for ANR

At their board meeting today, the UC Regents appointed Daniel M. Dooley, a distinguished agricultural and environmental attorney with extensive experience in California agriculture, to head UC’s statewide agricultural and natural resources programs, effective Jan. 2, 2008.

“I am deeply honored to be selected as vice president for Agriculture and Natural Resources and appreciate the University’s confidence in my ability to lead the premier agricultural research and extension system in the nation,” said Dooley. “UC is uniquely positioned to enable California to continue to lead the world by finding new opportunities and solutions to the most pressing issues facing agriculture, consumers, the environment, natural resources and our youth.”

Dooley has had a long relationship with UC and the agricultural community. Throughout his career, he has held leadership positions in local, state and national agricultural organizations, as well as with the University. Dooley previously served as chief deputy director of the California Department of Food and Agriculture (1977-80) and chair of the California Water Commission (1982-86). He has chaired both the UC President’s Advisory Commission on Agriculture and Natural Resources and the UC Agricultural Issues Center’s advisory board, as well as serving as UC representative on the Council for Agriculture Research, Extension, and Teaching (CARET), a national grassroots organization of the land-grant universities and colleges.

“I am excited by Dan’s appointment to lead ANR,” said Rick Standiford, acting vice president. “His wide experience in Sacramento and Washington, as well as keen knowledge about California agricultural issues, make him an outstanding choice.”

Dooley currently is a partner at Dooley, Herr and Peltzer, LLP, a Visalia-based law firm emphasizing agricultural, environmental, business and water rights law. He has distinguished himself by successfully bridging environmental and economic considerations in a number of controversial legal issues, including the recent settlement of protracted litigation regarding the restoration of the San Joaquin River, the reintroduction of salmon and the maintenance of agricultural practices supported by water from the river.

From 1980 to 2002, he was a partner in family-owned Dooley Farms, a San Joaquin Valley farming operation that produces cotton, alfalfa and walnuts.

“Dan Dooley is recognized and respected by the agricultural and environmental communities, elected officials in Washington and Sacramento, and across higher education as being thoughtful, proactive and a consensus builder,” said Fred Ruiz, San Joaquin Valley businessman and Regent. “He is the right person to lead the University’s agricultural and natural resources programs into the future.”

Dooley was recently appointed to the National Academy of Sciences’ Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources and is a member and former chair of the Farm Foundation Round Table.  He also served as vice chair of USDA’s National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education and Economics Advisory Board and as a member of the U.S. Trade Representative’s Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for Trade.

He also has led a national effort involving Congress and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges to establish the National Institutes for Food and Agriculture within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Modeled on the National Science Foundation, with an independent chief scientist, the institute would provide substantial new funding for competitively awarded research, extension and education grants.

Earlier this year, Dooley was recognized by California Lawyer magazine’s Lawyer of the Year publication for his work to achieve settlement of the two-decades-old litigation relating to the San Joaquin River. In 2004, he was inducted into the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service Research Hall of Fame. He also received the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Award of Distinction in 2000. 

Dooley received his bachelor's degree in agricultural economics from UC Davis and his J.D. from the McGeorge School of Law at the University of the Pacific. He is also a graduate of the California Agricultural Leadership Program.

Dooley’s wife, Diana, is president and CEO of the California Children's Hospital Association in Sacramento. They have two grown daughters, Megan and Katharine.

Standiford, ANR associate vice president, has served as acting vice president since the retirement of W.R. Gomes as vice president in May after 11 years of service.

Click here for UC Office of the President news release on the ANR vice president's appointment.