IRVINE, CA (June 11, 2021) – The Big West announced that University of California, Davis Chancellor Gary S. May was elected Chair of the Board of Directors for 2022-23 during its recent spring meeting. May will replace incoming Chair Framroze M. Virjee, President of California State University, Fullerton, who was elected last Spring and will begin his term as chair on July 1, 2021. Virjee succeeds outgoing chair, Chancellor Howard Gillman of University of California, Irvine.
 
Virjee became the eighth president of Cal State Fullerton in January of 2018. As chief executive officer of the largest CSU, Virjee serves more than 41,000 students and provides leadership for over 4,000 educators.
 
A first-generation college graduate, Virjee previously served as executive vice chancellor, general counsel, and secretary to the Board of Trustees for the CSU’s Office of the Chancellor and the 23 campuses of the largest system of higher education in the country.
 
Virjee and his wife, Julie, are co-founders of Yambi Rwanda, a non-profit dedicated to improving the lives of Rwandans through the sustained provision of basic human needs — clean water, adequate nutrition, and healthcare — along with equitable access to quality education and the celebration of Rwanda’s culture and arts. 
 
May became the seventh chancellor of University of California, Davis in 2017 and leads the most comprehensive campus in the University of California system, with four colleges and six professional schools. UC Davis enrolls more than 39,000 students, brings in nearly $850 million annually in sponsored research and contributes at least $8 billion annually to California’s economy.
 
In 2010, May was named “outstanding engineering alumnus” of UC Berkeley, where he earned his master’s and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering and computer science. He is also a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
 
"Fram Virjee and Gary May represent the Board’s strong commitment to the ongoing improvement of the Big West Conference and steadfast support for creating championship experiences for student-athletes, coaches, staff and fans alike,” Commissioner Dan Butterly said. “I would like to thank University of California, Irvine Chancellor Howard Gillman for his tireless effort and tremendous leadership as Board Chair throughout the unprecedented challenges we faced during the 2020-21 academic year."
 
About the Big West
The Big West Conference was formed in 1969 and is a member of NCAA Division I with 11 academically and athletically prominent institutions consisting of Cal Poly, CSU Bakersfield, Cal State Fullerton, CSUN, Hawai‘i, Long Beach State, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara.

The conference sponsors 18 sports at the NCAA Division I level: baseball, softball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s volleyball, women’s beach volleyball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s track and field and women’s water polo. For more information, visit BigWest.org or follow the Big West Conference on Twitter @BigWestSports and @BigWestHoops.