I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Celine Parreñas Shimizu as dean of our Arts Division. An award-winning film scholar and filmmaker, Shimizu’s work focuses on race, sexuality and representations in global popular culture, and she is a prominent voice nationally on those issues. Shimizu will take up the post on July 1.
Shimizu joins us from San Francisco State University, where she is a Professor of Cinema and Director of the School of Cinema, a position she has held since 2019. Previously she served as the university’s Associate Director of the School of Cinema.
In her administrative roles, she has experience in resource management, faculty development, student curriculum, and equity and diversity. In her leadership of SFSU’s School of Cinema, she has been attentive to establishing effective communications that enable the building of a collaborative community. In resource management, she has overseen building renovations and the establishment of student scholarships. A commitment to equity, inclusion and access has been a major component of her leadership. Since 2014, Shimizu has participated in Ford Foundation and National Academies panels to review fellowships designed to diversify the professoriate. Her programming as SFSU’s Director of the School of Cinema focused on Women of Color Filmmakers in 2019 and on Race, Rebellion and Resistance in 2020, featuring prominent alumni and guests from the industry and the academy. Her deep engagement with the challenging and enriching issues of diversity and equity in higher education will be an asset to UC Santa Cruz.
Before joining SFSU, Shimizu was Professor of Asian American, Film and Media, and Feminist Studies at UC Santa Barbara, where she served as chair of the Senior Women’s Council. She received her Ph.D. in Modern Thought and Literature from Stanford University; her M.F.A. in Production and Directing from UCLA School of Theatre, Film and Television; and her B.A. in Ethnic Studies from UC Berkeley.
Shimizu is the author of three books, co-editor of two anthologies and director of two feature films. Her latest work, the documentary film “The Celine Archive,” is screening now at film festivals in the U.S. and abroad.
I would like to thank the search committee for its hard work, collaboration, and partnership. Participation in the public sessions was strong, and the feedback was extraordinarily helpful. Please join me in congratulating Dr. Shimizu and welcoming her to our campus community. I look forward to working with her.
