Joining the University of California at Merced

I am excited to share the news that I will be joining the University of California at Merced as their dean of the School of Natural Sciences (SNS) this August.

UC Merced is the first research university of the 21st century, and in the 20 short years of its existence, it has soared to R1 status. I look forward to leading SNS through the next phase of its evolution and development, providing academic and administrative leadership to SNS faculty, staff, and students. The School has 100 faculty in five interdisciplinary units, the medical scholars program and a number of organized research units. SNS has roughly 280 graduate students and about 1900 undergrads. The university is dedicated to meeting the needs of the underserved population in the greater San Joaquin Valley though they pull students from all over the state of California. As a new research institution, the campus, the faculty and the students have a highly collaborative and interdisciplinary perspective on higher education. It has achieved distinction in its research and scholarship, academic excellence, sustainable culture and environmentally responsible campus, community engagement and the social mobility that it enables for its students. It is both a Hispanic-serving Institution and a Minority-serving Institution and exemplifies inclusive excellence. It is not far from the part of the country I used to call home, and I remember when the new UC campus was first proposed in the 90’s. It's amazing to see it rise to prominence, and I look forward to contributing to this community.

Top priorities when I arrive will include leading the vision and strategy for SNS, recruiting, retaining, and supporting SNS’s talented faculty, enhancing the school’s academic profile and scholarly impact, growing the student body, advancing the school’s administrative structure and function, and advocating for SNS internally and externally. I look forward to joining the provost’s leadership team and helping to advance the priorities and goals of UC Merced.

I will miss my friends and colleagues at the University of Delaware where I built my career for the last 25 years. Professional highpoints included working with great students, faculty and academic leaders, leading Mathematical Sciences as chair and being the inaugural dean of the Graduate College. I will remain in touch!