Gary Mitchell Named to UOP's Board of Regents

On July 1, insurance company owner Gary Mitchell of Novato will join the University of the Pacific’s Board of Regents.

Mitchell is president of , which specializes in serving the dental community. His father founded the company and Mitchell purchased it in 1997 after his father retired.

"I took the role because I thought it would be a challenge, and I'm always looking for new things to do," Mitchell said.

Mitchell grew up in the Country Club area of Novato and attended Loma Verde Elementary School, San Jose Middle School and Novato High School. He is a 1980 graduate of Pacific Lutheran University.

Before entering the family business, Mitchell served six years in the United States Air Force, for which he was a navigator and bombardier assigned to the nation’s B-52 bomber fleet. He earned an honorable discharge in 1986 with the rank of captain.

Mitchell and his wife, Sandra, a Kaiser hospital lab technician, have sons aged 26 and 24 and a 21-year-old daughter.

Outside of his business, Mitchell has served as board president of the Pacific Dugoni Foundation since 2007. He also serves as co-chair of Pacific’s Northern California Leadership Gift Committee, which is committed to raising money for Pacific’s new building in San Francisco.

"I didn't go to UOP, but I became connected because my clients are all dentists," he said.

Also elected to the UOP board were Richard H. Fleming and Hayne Moyer.

The board’s bylaws require regents to spend at least one year off the board after serving three consecutive three-year terms. In addition, Ron Berberian and Susanne Stirling, both of whom were elected to the board in January of this year, will also be joining the Board effective July 1.

The University of the Pacific Board of Regents is entrusted with final responsibility for the quality and integrity of the education provided by the university. It selects the university's president, approves the mission of the university, and ensures provision of adequate resources to support the university. In addition, the board protects the university from external pressures antithetical to academic freedom and to university autonomy or integrity.