UC Regent Norm Pattiz, accused of sexual harassment, announces resignation

Regent Norman Pattiz (left) speaks during a meeting of the UC Board of Regents while Eloy Ortiz Oakley listens at the UCSF Mission Bay campus in San Francisco, Calif. on Thursday, Nov. 16, 2017. Regent Norman Pattiz (left) speaks during a meeting of the UC Board of Regents while Eloy Ortiz Oakley listens at the UCSF Mission Bay campus in San Francisco, Calif. on Thursday, Nov. 16, 2017. Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 54 Caption Close UC Regent Norm Pattiz, accused of sexual harassment, announces resignation 1 / 54 Back to Gallery

University of California Regent Norm Pattiz, who was recorded last year asking an actress at his podcast company if he could hold her breasts and had recently been pressured to leave the board, will step down in February, The Chronicle has learned.

The board took no action against Pattiz when the recording surfaced in October 2016 because he wasn’t conducting UC business at the time, said the regents, whose job includes holding UC faculty and executives accountable for sexual misconduct. The regents have since changed their policy so that alleged outside misconduct can trigger an investigation.

This fall, attention returned to the Pattiz case as the #MeToo movement emerged and led to vast numbers of women speaking out about sexual harassment. Student protesters demanded his resignation, UC employees threatened a constitutional amendment to make it possible to fire a regent, and three fellow regents raised the matter again with board Chair George Kieffer.

In his resignation letter to Kieffer, Pattiz did not mention the sexual harassment accusation but said it was time to retire after 16 years on the board.

“Serving the greatest educational institution in the world has been a privilege and a pleasure,” Pattiz wrote, noting that he will retire Feb. 16. That’s when Regent Ellen Tauscher will take over Pattiz’s key role as chairman of the Boards of Governors for Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos national laboratories, which are managed in part by UC.

Pattiz, 74, has been a regent since 2001 and was reappointed to a new 12-year term in 2014 by Gov. Jerry Brown.

Kieffer accepted Pattiz’s decision, saying, “After so many years you deserve a break.”

The controversy came to light in October 2016, when actress Heather McDonald posted the recording of Pattiz’s comments on her “Juicy Scoop” podcast, which by then was no longer hosted by Podcast One, Pattiz’s Los Angeles company.

McDonald also said she often felt uncomfortable during her weekly visits to the recording studio because Pattiz repeatedly commented on her appearance or joked about following her into the restroom.

A second woman, Ji Min Park, told the Los Angeles Times in 2016 that she left Podcast One that year after Pattiz frequently commented on her looks and made other demeaning remarks, including telling her she was the “hottest Asian” he’d ever seen. Park told the Times that Pattiz later apologized.

Pattiz has denied creating a hostile work environment and has apologized for the recorded remarks. He could not be reached for comment Thursday.

McDonald said she was thrilled to learn that Pattiz is leaving the regents.

“I just didn’t want this type of person making decisions about student life and tuition and everything else,” she told The Chronicle. “I’m very happy.”

Student Regent Paul Monge expressed satisfaction at Thursday’s announcement. In November, he joined Regents Gavin Newsom, the state’s lieutenant governor, and Tom Torlakson, the state superintendent of public instruction, in asking Kieffer what had been done to discipline and investigate Pattiz.

“For months now, students have been unwavering in arguing that Regent Pattiz’s continued presence on the board is inconsistent with the UC’s commitment to addressing the culture of sexual harassment and sexual violence on our campuses,” Monge said. “We appreciate that Regent Pattiz has come to understand this and has agreed to step down.”

Nanette Asimov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: nasimov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @NanetteAsimov