July 20, 2012
TO THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY
Dear Colleagues:
It is with great sorrow that I write to inform our campus community of the sad news that Dr. Robert A. Huttenback, Chancellor of UC Santa Barbara from 1977 to 1986, passed away on June 10, 2012.
Dr. Huttenback was appointed as the third chancellor of this campus on July 1, 1977. He came to UC Santa Barbara from the California Institute of Technology, where he chaired the Division of Humanities and Social Sciences from 1972 to 1977. Prior to that he served as Caltech's Master of Student Houses, then Dean of Students. He was also a professor of history, first joining Caltech's faculty in 1958. He was an alumnus of UCLA, where he received his bachelor's degree in 1951 and his Ph.D. in 1959. His academic specialty was the history of the British Empire and the Commonwealth, with a special emphasis on India. In 1956-57, he received a Fulbright Fellowship to study at the University of London in the School of Oriental and African Studies. The following year, he was awarded a Ford Foundation grant to study and travel in India. He received other fellowships and grants that permitted additional study in India and Great Britain as well as Pakistan and South Africa. Over the course of his career he authored numerous well-regarded books, articles, papers, and reviews.
Dr. Huttenback dedicated nine years to our campus as chancellor at a pivotal time in UC Santa Barbara's growth and development, and we will always be grateful for his vision and his lasting contributions. We extend our sincere condolences to Robert's wife, Freda, and their family. In his memory, our campus flag will be lowered to half-staff on July 26.
Sincerely,
Henry T. Yang
Chancellor