The UCR Foundation Board of Trustees welcomed Wally Bakare as its new chair and two new ex-officio voting members, Jeff Pack and Josefina Canchola, who began their terms July 1.

The 35-member volunteer Board of Trustees oversees UC Riverside’s affiliated foundation, receiving and managing the investment of a $280.6 million endowment as of May 31 that supports the long-term strength of UCR’s research programs, colleges, and scholarship funds. Trustees advocate for UCR and advance its mission by seeking and securing private support for its programs. 

Bakare, a trustee since 2018 who was named chair-elect last year, has assumed the role of board chair for a two-year term. Bakare, who has 25 years of experience in the cable and telecommunications industry, is regional vice president of field ops for Spectrum’s West region. He served as co-chair of UCR’s Beyond Brilliant fundraising campaign, which raised more than $50 million for student success, and was recently elected a board member of the Denver Art Museum. Bakare graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science from Lagos State University in 1991 and a master’s in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of Lagos in 1995.

Canchola joins the board as an ex-officio voting member during her two-year term as president of the UCR Alumni Association. Canchola is the statewide director of secondary programs for the Puente Project, an academic preparation program for first-generation and low-income students headquartered at UC Berkeley. She is a member of the Whittier Union High School Board of Trustees and has served as vice chair of Rio Hondo Community College’s Citizens Oversight Committee as an appointee of the college's Board of Trustees. She earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from UCR in 1988 and a master’s in management from the University of Phoenix in 2006.

Pack joins the board as an ex-officio voting member for one year during his term as an alumni regent on the UC Board of Regents. Pack is a retired naval officer who has served as a defense and naval attaché to four U.S. ambassadors. Later in his career, Pack worked in local government for the City of San Diego in positions including emergency management and violence prevention. Currently, he serves as president-elect of the UCR Alumni Association. Pack earned bachelor’s degrees in history and anthropology from UCR, a master’s in law and diplomacy from Tufts University, and a master’s in medical anthropology from Durham University in the United Kingdom.