Six faculty members are being either appointed or reappointed to positions as college provosts, Lynda J. Goff, vice provost and dean of undergraduate education at UC Santa Cruz, has announced.
"These college provosts are fundamental to the character of UCSC," Goff said, "A provost is the academic head of the college and is an important figure in the lives of our undergraduates. Provosts symbolize and in some senses personify the colleges for students, alumni, and the entire campus. I am very pleased that we have found such exceptional faculty to take on these positions."
Provosts have been appointed or reappointed at the following colleges:
College Eight:
Lecturer and Writing Program chair Roswell (Roz) Spafford has been appointed provost of College Eight. Spafford graduated from UCSC's Merrill College in 1971, having majored in community studies and done fieldwork with the United Farm Workers. After graduate work at San Francisco State University in creative writing, she returned to the campus as a faculty member in 1978. She has taught in the Writing Program ever since, serving as its chair from 2001 to the present. Commenting on her appointment, Spafford said, "I am very honored to have the opportunity to support the wonderful work College Eight staff and faculty have been doing."
Cowell College:
In a new situation for UCSC, associate professors of literature Tyrus Miller and Deanna Shemek have been appointed co-provosts for Cowell College starting in January 2005. Shemek came to UCSC in 1990 after teaching at Yale University. She has received a variety of prestigious awards in recent years, including the American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship in 1995 and the Harvard Villa I Tatti Fellowship in 2001. Miller came to UCSC from Yale in 1999, and was director of the UC Education Abroad Program in Budapest, Hungary, from 2001 to 2004. In addition to these scholarly distinctions, Shemek and Miller have also both been active in Cowell College since arriving on campus. Shemek and Miller said they are honored to carry on the strong traditions of Cowell, and at the same time, eager to try some new ideas and directions for the College. Professor emeritus of chemistry Stanley Williamson, who has served as provost for the last academic year, will continue as provost until January 2005. Williamson has been active in the college and on campus for many years, and agreed to continue his service on behalf of Cowell until the new provosts take office.
Crown College:
Crown College is welcoming professor of computer engineering F. Joel Ferguson back for a second term as provost. Ferguson was one of the primary authors on the proposal to integrate the college core courses and the campus composition requirements. Provost Ferguson's primary focus during his next term will be to increase the involvement of faculty in the college.
Kresge College:
Having previously served as provost of Kresge College from 1996 to 2001, professor of literature Paul Skenazy will return to the college for a second stint as provost. He has taught at UCSC since 1971, and his scholarly work ranges from popular culture to ethnic literature. During his earlier service as provost, Skenazy helped make Kresge the heart of transfer student life at UCSC, establishing a center for transfer students which was the first of its kind in the University of California system. "I hope in the next few years to build on my earlier efforts, especially in integrating faculty research with undergraduate course work," Skenazy said. "I would also like to find ways to make the colleges more responsive to members of the local community."
Porter College:
Porter College Provost David Evan Jones has been reappointed to another three-year term, which starts July 1. During his first term as provost, Jones launched several initiatives, including a gospel choir course, a course in queer studies, a community service course taught by dancer/choreographer Tandy Beal, a research assistant program for Porter students, and the George Hitchcock Poetry Fund. In his second term, Jones hopes to collaborate with the Division of Arts in creating a nationally visible festival of digital arts/new media at UCSC.
