Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Gamer’s costly rise and fall

UCSD was in as much of a hurry to get rid of Steve Gamer as it had been to hire him

Steve Gamer
Steve Gamer

In January 2014, University of California regents thought they had a hustler in Steve Gamer, so much so that they hastily agreed to pay him the princely annual salary of $455,792 to become UCSD’s new vice chancellor of advancement. “As the San Diego campus prepares to launch a comprehensive fundraising campaign, the Vice Chancellor-Advancement position is being reinstated in the Chancellor’s cabinet,” said a report that noted Gamer had “more than 20 years of experience in identifying, cultivating, and soliciting high net worth individuals, corporations, and foundations.” Gamer had been in a similar position at UCLA since 2002, and before that was planning and budgeting director for the Atlanta Jewish Federation and campaign director for the Madison Jewish Community Council, the report said. “It is critical that the new Vice Chancellor begin his appointment near the start of the calendar year so that he will become quickly engaged in the campus strategic planning initiative that has been in progress over the past year and prepare for the launch of the new fundraising campaign.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Gamer was to oversee “approximately 220 staff and annual expenditures in excess of $25 million,” in UCSD’s big-dollar quest. By fall of last year, the school reported raising a record $177.5 million in fiscal year 2015, 20 percent more than the year before, still “far behind the upper echelon in private fundraising among universities,” according to an October 2 account in the Union-Tribune. “Gamer said he doesn’t plan to focus more on alumni donations, but rather to promote the university to the entire community,” the paper reported, adding that Gamer was planning to roll out a billion-dollar-plus fundraising campaign for the university this coming November.

But last month, UCSD was suddenly in as much of a hurry to get rid of Gamer as it had been to hire him. “This urgent request is in response to a need to execute the agreement in exchange for Mr. Gamer’s resignation effective March 1, 2016,” says a March 24 report to the regents from UC president Janet Napolitano. “The President of the University requests approval of a $135,072 separation payment ($177,031 severance minus $41,959 relocation repayment) in connection with the separation agreement. Under the terms of the proposed agreement, the payment would be made within 30 days of his resignation date of March 1, 2016.” The document goes on to reveal that “due to family obligations Mr. Gamer never relocated from Los Angeles to San Diego.” But he still accepted a $85,938 relocation allowance “to help cover the additional living expenses associated with having an apartment near the campus.” The report provides few details regarding Gamer’s abrupt departure, saying only, “the San Diego campus is in the final stages of planning the campus’ first major fundraising campaign in nearly ten years. Because of a change in strategy for the campaign, it is now agreed that it is in everyone’s interest that Mr. Gamer resign from his position.” It adds that “the campus placed Mr. Gamer on paid leave beginning January 13, 2016.” And Gamer didn’t leave without an additional cost, in the form of a $135,072 severance payment. “A separation payment is being requested due to Mr. Gamer’s 13-year tenure at University of California during which time he made numerous contributions at UCLA and UC San Diego,” says the document. “The Office of the General Counsel has been consulted on this action and concurs.”

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

La Clochette brings croissants—and cassoulet—to Mission Valley

Whatever's going on with this bakery business, Civita Park residents get a decent meal
Steve Gamer
Steve Gamer

In January 2014, University of California regents thought they had a hustler in Steve Gamer, so much so that they hastily agreed to pay him the princely annual salary of $455,792 to become UCSD’s new vice chancellor of advancement. “As the San Diego campus prepares to launch a comprehensive fundraising campaign, the Vice Chancellor-Advancement position is being reinstated in the Chancellor’s cabinet,” said a report that noted Gamer had “more than 20 years of experience in identifying, cultivating, and soliciting high net worth individuals, corporations, and foundations.” Gamer had been in a similar position at UCLA since 2002, and before that was planning and budgeting director for the Atlanta Jewish Federation and campaign director for the Madison Jewish Community Council, the report said. “It is critical that the new Vice Chancellor begin his appointment near the start of the calendar year so that he will become quickly engaged in the campus strategic planning initiative that has been in progress over the past year and prepare for the launch of the new fundraising campaign.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Gamer was to oversee “approximately 220 staff and annual expenditures in excess of $25 million,” in UCSD’s big-dollar quest. By fall of last year, the school reported raising a record $177.5 million in fiscal year 2015, 20 percent more than the year before, still “far behind the upper echelon in private fundraising among universities,” according to an October 2 account in the Union-Tribune. “Gamer said he doesn’t plan to focus more on alumni donations, but rather to promote the university to the entire community,” the paper reported, adding that Gamer was planning to roll out a billion-dollar-plus fundraising campaign for the university this coming November.

But last month, UCSD was suddenly in as much of a hurry to get rid of Gamer as it had been to hire him. “This urgent request is in response to a need to execute the agreement in exchange for Mr. Gamer’s resignation effective March 1, 2016,” says a March 24 report to the regents from UC president Janet Napolitano. “The President of the University requests approval of a $135,072 separation payment ($177,031 severance minus $41,959 relocation repayment) in connection with the separation agreement. Under the terms of the proposed agreement, the payment would be made within 30 days of his resignation date of March 1, 2016.” The document goes on to reveal that “due to family obligations Mr. Gamer never relocated from Los Angeles to San Diego.” But he still accepted a $85,938 relocation allowance “to help cover the additional living expenses associated with having an apartment near the campus.” The report provides few details regarding Gamer’s abrupt departure, saying only, “the San Diego campus is in the final stages of planning the campus’ first major fundraising campaign in nearly ten years. Because of a change in strategy for the campaign, it is now agreed that it is in everyone’s interest that Mr. Gamer resign from his position.” It adds that “the campus placed Mr. Gamer on paid leave beginning January 13, 2016.” And Gamer didn’t leave without an additional cost, in the form of a $135,072 severance payment. “A separation payment is being requested due to Mr. Gamer’s 13-year tenure at University of California during which time he made numerous contributions at UCLA and UC San Diego,” says the document. “The Office of the General Counsel has been consulted on this action and concurs.”

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Pedicab drivers in downtown San Diego miss the music

New rules have led to 50% drop in business
Next Article

Last plane out of Seoul, 1950

Memories of a daring escape at the start of a war
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader