Dennis Assanis
Chancellor
University of California, Santa Barbara
Dennis Assanis is the sixth Chancellor of the University of California, Santa Barbara. He previously served as the President of the University of Delaware from 2016 to 2025.
As Chancellor of UC Santa Barbara, Dr. Assanis is responsible for shaping the university’s long-term strategy and guiding the university in its teaching, research and service mission. UC Santa Barbara is a preeminent research university – one of only 71 institutions in the prestigious Association of American Universities. Consistently recognized as one of the top universities in the country, UC Santa Barbara is home to groundbreaking research and innovative teaching, offering new knowledge to address real-world challenges. The campus is the largest employer in the region and is responsible for the creation of more than 90 companies, bolstering the economy and contributing more than $2 billion in economic impact to Santa Barbara and California.
Chancellor Assanis, an elected member of the National Academy of Engineering, is a distinguished educator with a wide range of academic leadership experience and a worldwide reputation as a scholar and expert in clean energy and power systems. His scientific contributions have led to significant fuel economy improvements and emission reductions in transportation. In 2019, Dr. Assanis was named to the new National Commission on Innovation and Competitiveness Frontiers, an initiative of the nonprofit and nonpartisan Council on Competitiveness, and previously served on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
Before joining the University of Delaware, Dr. Assanis served as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Stony Brook University and as vice president for Brookhaven National Laboratory Affairs. He previously taught and conducted research at the University of Michigan and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Born and raised in Athens, Greece, Dr. Assanis earned his bachelor’s degree in Marine Engineering from Newcastle University in England (1980). At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he earned three master’s degrees: Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering (1982), Mechanical Engineering (1982), and Management (1986). Also at MIT, he earned a Ph.D. in Power and Propulsion (1985). He received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Delaware in 2025.
In 2023, Dr. Assanis was recognized by Newcastle University with its Alumni Impact Award.
Chancellor Assanis and his wife, Eleni, have two adult sons.