UCSC Chancellor Commits Suicide

As many of you already know, UCSC's ninth and only openly gay chancellor, Denice Denton, committed suicide this past Saturday morning. She jumped out of the 44th floor of a San Francisco apartment owned by her partner, Gretchen Kalonji.

The SF Chronicle reports:

Denton, a well-regarded engineer, had been named this spring in a series of articles examining UC management compensation. She had been criticized for an expensive university-funded renovation on her campus home, and for obtaining a UC administrative job for Kalonji.

Indeed, Denton had requested some $30,000 for a dog run as part of $600,000 in renovations to the home, and many were outraged when a six-figure position was created at UCSC just for Denton's partner.

Denton, 46, died Saturday morning after jumping from the Paramount at Mission and Third streets, police said. The building is advertised as San Francisco's tallest luxury rental apartment building. A guest at the nearby Argent Hotel called authorities at 8:17 a.m. to report a body on the roof of a parking structure below the apartment building, police said. The medical examiner ruled her death a suicide.

Denton had been on medical leave from the university since June 15 and was expected to return to work this week, said UC Santa Cruz spokesman Jim Burns. She was absent from the university's commencement exercises last week because she was not feeling well, he said.

Full article

Baruch Dayan HaEmes. A memorial ceremony for Chancellor Denton will be taking place today, Thursday, June 27 at 10am at the Music Recital Hall at UCSC, followed by a reception.