He joined the campus in 1984 as executive vice chancellor and provost.  During his tenure as chancellor, the campus was invited to membership in the AAU; increased its extramural awards from $169.1 million to $586 million annually, earning a National Science Foundation (NSF) research funding ranking of 10th in the U.S. among public universities; increased private gifts from $40 million to more than $200 million a year, with more than $1 billion cumulatively raised in support of programs; expanded classroom, lab, clinical and office space by 6 million square feet; completed the transformation of an ailing county hospital to an academically distinguished and financially sound regional medical center; and made distinctive strides in recruiting a diverse and accomplished faculty and student body.  Student enrollment grew from 22,000 to more than 30,000, and the faculty increased by 44 percent.

Chancellor Vanderhoef was honored by the Sacramento (California) Business Journal as one of the 20 people who have contributed most substantially to California’s capital region over the past 20 years, and Valley Vision presented him with its 2009 Legacy of Leadership Award.  As well, the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce named him Sacramentan of the Year in 2004, and the Arts and Business Council of Sacramento presented him with its Prelude to the Season Outstanding Contribution Award in 2003.

The 2006 Northern California International Leadership Award was presented to him by the Northern California World Trade Center and the California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency in recognition of his efforts to increase the campus’s international engagement.  Also that year, he was elected an honorary member of the World Innovation Foundation.

In 2004 he led a UC Davis delegation to Iran in an effort to promote dialogue and scholar exchange, and to promote generally the notion of crossing boundaries to build greater understanding and good will – a continuing personal and professional effort.  He returned to Iran in November 2008 as part of a small delegation of AAU presidents.

His research interests lie in the general area of plant growth and development, and in the evolution of the land-grant universities. He has taught classes from freshman level to advanced graduate study.

Chancellor Vanderhoef has served on various national commissions addressing graduate and international education, the role of a modern land-grant university and accrediting issues.

He holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in biology from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and a Ph.D. in plant biochemistry from Purdue University. Previously, he held faculty positions at the University of Illinois, where he also served as a department head, and at the University of Maryland, College Park, where he was appointed provost. Early in his career, he was named an Eisenhower Fellow, a recognition awarded to emerging leaders from around the world to promote positive relationships and interactions between countries.  He was awarded honorary doctoral degrees by Purdue University and by Inje University in Korea, and an honorary professorship of China Agricultural University.