Rex Hime of Loomis, head of the California Business Properties Association and a leader among UC Davis alumni, has been selected to represent alumni of the University of California and will serve as an ex officio member of the UC Board of Regents.

Hime, who received a bachelor's degree in political science from the Davis campus in 1969 and a law degree from its School of Law in 1972, will on July 1 begin a one-year term as secretary of the Alumni Associations of the University of California (AAUC). He is then slated to serve as president of the organization for a year.

Coinciding with his AAUC role, Hime will serve as a regent-designate for one year on UC's governing body and become a full-voting regent for the following year.

The AAUC rotates appointments of its officers from among the alumni associations of the 10 UC campuses, and the Cal Aggie Alumni Association (CAAA) board of directors elected Hime to serve as an officer of the AAUC.

Hime is president and chief executive officer of the California Business Properties Association (CBPA), a legislative and regulatory advocate for more than 11,000 businesses in the commercial, industrial and retail real estate industries. He and his wife, Gwyn Bicker Hime, live in Loomis and have two sons.

Service

Hime has a distinguished record of service to UC Davis. He was both a vice president and president of the Davis alumni association. From 1992 to 2004, he served as a trustee of the UC Davis Foundation, the volunteer fundraising board for UC Davis, and he continues to be a trustee emeritus. Hime has served on various finance committees for the campus, the alumni association and student campaigns. He also donates regularly to a variety of university organizations.

Hime was instrumental in the creation of AggieAdvocates, volunteers who advocate on behalf of UC, and a founding member of the Sac Aggies Club, the alumni chapter in Sacramento.

The CAAA honored Hime with the 2007 Jerry W. Fielder Memorial Award, which recognizes a UC Davis graduate who has provided extraordinary service to the alumni association, the foundation and the university.

Hime is a member of the board of directors of the California State Fair and is chair of the Greater Sacramento Valley Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. His career has included service in state government.

On the university

Hime says the university will continue to face severe budget challenges in the foreseeable future. "Finding new ways to battle future budget cuts while accommodating the growing population of eligible students is the highest priority for the regents in the coming years," he said.

In addition to addressing budget and eligibility issues, Hime would like to see the university seek out ways to provide value to California taxpayers. "The university can do much more to tap its vast intellectual resources and apply them to help solve the state's most pressing problems such as greenhouse gas reduction, energy efficiency and increasing sustainability, while continuing to foster economic growth," he said.

The CAAA, which has more than 28,000 members, advances the interests and promotes the welfare of UC Davis and its alumni. The AAUC encompasses representatives from each of UC's independent alumni associations.

The UC Board of Regents has 26 members: the governor appoints 18 regents to a 12-year term; the regents appoint a student regent for a one-year term; and seven regents, including Hime, are ex officio members.