New Dean of Humanities, best wishes to Tyler Stovall, interim dean named

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Jasmine Alinder as dean of our Humanities Division. Alinder will begin Aug. 15. 
 
Alinder joins us from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where she is a professor of history and associate dean of the humanities in the College of Letters and Science, a position she has held since 2017. Dr. Alinder has served in a number of administrative roles at UWM, among them director of urban studies, and coordinator of public history for the History Department. In her position as associate dean, she oversees budgets, personnel, hiring, academic program initiatives, scheduling, facilities, and research support for nine departments, five centers, three interdepartmental degree programs, more than a dozen certificate programs, Milwaukee Public Radio, and the Mathis Art Gallery. As director of urban studies, she oversaw a set of interdisciplinary degree programs that include an undergraduate major, certificate, M.S. and Ph.D. As coordinator of public history, she worked with graduate students as an adviser, many of whom specialized in museum studies. Her service beyond the university has focused on using the public humanities to bridge divides between the university and community, to create alliances with state and federal governments, agencies, businesses, and nonprofits. 
 
Alinder is an interdisciplinary, community-engaged scholar and teacher of public history, the history of photography, and the history of Japanese-Americans during World War II. As a historian of photography, her research investigates what she characterizes as “the presumptive right to the camera.” She earned her doctorate in the history of art at the University of Michigan, with an emphasis on the history of photography, her M.A. in art history at the University of New Mexico, and an A.B. in art history from Princeton University. 

I would like to thank the search committee for its hard work, collaboration, and flexibility, particularly with the need to conduct campus visits via remotely. Participation in the public sessions was strong, and the feedback useful. Please join me in congratulating Dr. Alinder and in welcoming her to our community. I look forward to working with her.  
 
Tyler Stovall informed me of his decision to step down as humanities dean this past fall, and during the winter quarter we launched the national search that brought us Dr. Alinder. Dean Stovall has notified me that he has accepted the position of dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Fordham University and that he is formally retiring from UC Santa Cruz.

I would like to offer my appreciation to Tyler for his contributions to campus. He began his tenure as dean here in 2014, coming from UC Berkeley, where he was a professor of French history and dean of the undergraduate division of the College of Letters and Science. Tyler’s arrival in 2014 was a return, not a new beginning. He had previously spent 13 years as a faculty member in the History Department, and he had served as provost of Stevenson College. 

Tyler is an accomplished scholar, the author of four books, several co-edited volumes, numerous journal articles, and several textbooks. He is a past president of the American Historical Association. On our campus, Tyler has been a strong supporter of The Humanities Institute, and it has developed greatly during his deanship. It serves as a model for advancing student and faculty research and for creating unique events that engage the broader community in questions that matter to us all

A commitment to social justice is central to Tyler’s life and career, and I have always found him to be collegial and thoughtful about humanities education. His last day at UCSC is June 30. Please join me in wishing Tyler well.

Carla Freccero, distinguished professor of Literature and History of Consciousness, and affiliated faculty in Feminist Studies, will serve as interim dean. She joined our faculty in 1991 and currently serves as chair of the Literature Department. Trained as a Renaissance scholar, she is the author of several books and numerous articles on topics ranging from early modern literature to feminist queer theory and animal studies. She is also principal investigator of The Humanities Institute research cluster on Speculatively Scientific Fictions of the Future. I’m delighted she has agreed to serve campus in this interim capacity.