Passing of Gary Matkin

It is with great sadness that I write to tell you of the passing of Dr. Gary Matkin, a longtime member of our UC Irvine community. He died peacefully yesterday after a long illness.

Dean Matkin started his UC career at UC Berkeley Extension in 1973, serving in a range of administrative roles before he joined the UC Irvine Division of Continuing Education (DCE) in 2000. In 2017, he also was appointed vice provost, Division of Career Pathways (DCP).

As the first vice provost for career pathways, Gary helped develop DCP to coordinate career services across the UCI campus for undergraduate and graduate students. During his tenure, DCP established an administrative union with DCE and acquired new technologies to increase student involvement.

Known as an innovative leader, Dean Matkin helped develop the open educational resources program to serve millions of students worldwide, create the UC Irvine Distance Learning Center to support online course development, and lead the campus in development of alternative digital credentials. He also was part of the leadership team that created the first online degree program in the UC system, a master's degree in Criminology, Law and Society. When summer session was part of DCE, UC Irvine offered its first online undergraduate programs and enrollment increased through the "pay for only 8" program, which helped students reduce costs and complete degrees faster.

Gary retired from UC Irvine on June 30, 2022, 49 years to the day that he began his career at the University of California.

We extend our condolences to Maya Matkin, Gary’s beloved wife, and their son, Ethan, as well as to all of Gary’s friends and colleagues during this difficult time.

Chancellor Howard Gillman