Theodore Hullar, UC Riverside’s 5th chancellor, dies at 90

Theodore L. Hullar, who served as UC Riverside’s fifth chancellor from 1985 to 1987, died Sept. 28 at the age of 90.

A biochemist specializing in environmental sciences, Hullar was initially recruited from Cornell University to UCR as executive vice chancellor; the plan was for him to serve under Chancellor Tomás Rivera, allowing Rivera to devote more time to community involvement. But, by the time Hullar joined UCR in July 1984, Rivera had died of a heart attack. Daniel Aldrich, former UC Irvine chancellor, was named acting UCR chancellor, and Hullar was appointed head of the 4,800-student campus a year later.

Ted Hullar speaking at his inauguration in 1985 — Hullar delivers a speech at his inauguration ceremony in 1985. (Courtesy of the Hullar family)

“He came to Riverside excited to work for Tomás Rivera, who died unexpectedly,” said Hullar’s son Timothy. “That was a big emotional blow for my dad, but he never regretted moving from Cornell to California. He loved Riverside and its faculty, staff, and students.”

Beginning his two-year tenure as chancellor in July 1985, Hullar, then 49, embarked on an ambitious plan to increase enrollment and expand academic programs. He oversaw the development of business administration and economics programs; graduate programs in environmental toxicology, biomedical sciences, and genetics; and took the first step toward establishing UCR’s engineering college, according to a 1987 article in The Press-Enterprise.

That article highlights Hullar’s simultaneous interest in community issues ranging from guiding downtown redevelopment to protesting a potential polluter. His crowning ‘town and gown’ achievement was perhaps an agreement with City of Riverside officials to move the California Museum of Photography — a UC entity housed in cramped quarters on campus — to downtown Riverside. The city, in turn, bought and donated the Kress building to the university, a gift worth $650,000.

Hullar on the UCR campus with a student and mascot — Hullar poses for a picture on campus circa 1985. (Courtesy of the Hullar family)

While not everyone was supportive of his community focus — “He has become involved at the risk of being criticized as a meddler who should stick to campus issues,” the Press-Enterprise article states — supporters praised his enthusiasm, ideas, and vision.

Former Riverside Mayor Ronald Loveridge, at that time a Riverside City Councilman, said in the 1987 article it was appropriate for the chancellor to be active in community affairs because “the university is judged in part by the community it finds itself in.”

“In my view, he’s put the campus on the map in the minds of the city and in the UC system in general,” said Loveridge, a political science professor at UCR since 1965, in the article. “He’s brought ideas, he’s brought vision, he’s brought enthusiasm.”

Hullar attended the University of Minnesota, where he received a bachelor’s degree in 1957 and a doctorate in 1963. He joined the State University of New York at Buffalo faculty in 1964, where in 1966 he discovered the Hanessian-Hullar chemical reaction — so named because another researcher, Stephen Hanessian, independently reported it the same year.

Hullar and colleagues at the summit of Mt. San Jacinto — From left, Hullar, Mike Hamilton, and several colleagues summit Mount San Jacinto during a field trip in 1981. (Courtesy of Mike Hamilton)

Prior to joining UCR, Hullar spent five years at Cornell University as director of the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station and director of the New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Mike Hamilton, former director of the UC James San Jacinto Mountains Reserve, which is managed by UC Riverside, met Hullar as a graduate student at Cornell.

“Ted was a passionate land conservationist and one of his big interests — both professionally as well as personally — was wilderness,” Hamilton said.

Hamilton’s research involved rare plants at the James Reserve and, as a member of his dissertation committee, Hullar visited the study area in 1981 — his first time in Southern California.

“That field visit meant a great deal to me,” Hamilton said. “Having your entire dissertation committee willing to make that trek demonstrated Ted’s genuine commitment to his students and his belief that good ecological research happens on the ground, not just in the office.”

After completing his doctorate, Hamilton was hired at the James Reserve and received a call from Hullar several years later announcing his appointment at UCR.

Ted Hullar in the San Jacinto Mountains — Hullar takes notes on a field trip to the UC James San Jacinto Mountains Reserve. (Courtesy of Mike Hamilton)

“He became a great promoter and supporter of our Reserves and I couldn’t have accomplished nearly as much as I did without his financial support through the budget and his encouragement and ideas,” Hamilton said. “He truly was a big thinker.”

After his two-year tenure at UCR, Hullar was appointed chancellor of UC Davis, serving from 1987 to 1994 and ushering in a period of long-term growth at the UC’s northernmost campus.

Hullar is survived by his wife of 67 years, Joan Miller Hullar; two sons, Timothy E. Hullar and Ted W. Hullar; and one grandson.