I write to share the news that Campus Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Marlene Tromp earlier today formally accepted an offer to become president of Boise State University. Her last day on campus will be June 30.
I am extremely happy for Marlene. The Boise State position is a wonderful opportunity. It is a university on the rise, and Marlene will have the opportunity to define its path. But Boise's gain is very much our loss. Marlene in her two years at UC Santa Cruz has done transformative work, helping shape our future through her tireless efforts leading creation of our Strategic Academic Plan. She ensured that the strengths of our campus — collaborative, interdisciplinary work — are its foundation. Once implemented, it will have far-reaching impacts, fostering new partnerships, boosting our reputation as a pre-eminent research university, and expanding our resources. Among her many other accomplishments, Marlene created an EVC Fellows program to advance faculty research, developed a Staff Fellows program to encourage professional development, and launched an administrative leadership program that will allow faculty to work on administrative projects in the offices of key leaders.
Marlene embraces the values our campus holds dear: a deep commitment to social justice, the pursuit of excellence, the value of diversity in all its forms, and the abiding belief that the status quo is not good enough. I have personally valued her counsel and collaboration. I wish Marlene the best of luck moving forward. She has served our campus exceptionally well.
I am delighted to announce that Lori Kletzer, our graduate studies dean, has accepted my offer to take the reins as interim campus provost and executive vice chancellor. Lori has deep roots on campus, arriving in 1992 as an assistant professor of economics. She served as economics department chair, then vice chair and chair of the Santa Cruz division of the Academic Senate. In 2010 she become provost and dean of faculty at Colby College. She returned to UCSC as graduate studies dean last year, and served as interim arts dean for a short period, earning rave reviews. She brings to the CPEVC role great experience as a provost, a high level of intellectual prowess, and a track record of collaboration. She will be a great resource for the incoming chancellor, and I am delighted to have her on board.
