To kick off a new academic year, faculty and staff from UC Santa Cruz’s Division of Social Sciences gathered at the Hay Barn on October 4th for the division’s annual fall breakfast. This convening includes an awards ceremony honoring outstanding achievements by faculty and staff across the division’s eight academic departments and four programs.
Attendees partook in a buffet-style breakfast while celebrating alongside colleagues old and new. Social Sciences Dean Katharyne Mitchell welcomed 12 faculty members and 14 staff appointments, thanked department chairs for their service, and recognized this year’s faculty and staff promotions. The dean and award committee members announced the recipients of the 2024 divisional faculty and staff awards, dedicated to honoring significant contributions to teaching, research excellence, and student support.
Golden Apple Teaching Award
Associate Professor of Latin American & Latino Studies Jeffrey Erbig received the Golden Apple Teaching Award for his teaching, advising, and mentoring of undergraduate and graduate students. Erbig has led several innovative courses for undergraduates, exposing students to multiple methods of research and analysis while also providing creative and critical perspectives on history, culture, and migration. His colleagues have praised his commitment to effective pedagogy by providing job market resources to Ph.D. students, in addition to personal support in preparation for their dissertations, job talks, and interviews. As a mentor, Erbig has transformed students’ educational trajectories, cultivating trust and respect from mentees from various backgrounds and identities.
Martin M. Chemers Award for Outstanding Research
Distinguished Professor of Politics Kent Eaton received the Martin M. Chemers Award, which recognizes a senior faculty whose research has had a substantial cumulative impact on their field at national and international levels. Eaton’s research has enabled him to become a renowned and distinguished scholar in the politics of federalism, studying territories and their role in democracy, development, and security. His scholarship in comparative politics and Latin American studies has been honored through awards from political science associations, chairing discipline committees, and being invited to conferences and collaborations with other scholars in Latin America.
Staff Award for Outstanding Achievement
This year, one department staff member was nominated for the Divison’s Staff Award for Outstanding Achievement. The review committee selects a staff member who receives a wide breadth of nominations and provides impactful, quality service to their unit. Cassie Isaacson, Environmental Studies Undergraduate Program Coordinator and Lead Advisor, received the staff award for her dedication to ensuring students complete degree requirements. Her nominators commend her efforts to bake DEI into every facet of her role, building community in the department, and providing a wide range of resources to students at every phase of their academic journey.
Distinguished Social Sciences Emeriti Faculty Award
Professor Emeritus of Economics Carl Walsh received the Distinguished Social Sciences Emeriti Award. Walsh joined the UC Santa Cruz faculty in 1987 with a focus on monetary theory and policy, central banking, macroeconomics, and Keynesian models. He has over 19,000 total citations and is best known for his paper “Optimal Contracts for Central Bankers” and book “Monetary Theory and Policy,” both influential works in macroeconomics. Walsh has mentored students who have gone on to hold prestigious positions at the Central Banks of Brazil, Peru, Turkey, Guatemala, Chile, and Japan, in addition to the International Monetary Fund, Bureau of Industry and Security, and various academic institutions. Since retiring in 2020, he has continued to produce papers on policy and its effects on inflation and labor markets.
In 2003, Walsh and his wife, Judy Walsh, established the Walsh Family Scholarship Endowment for Social Science majors in honor of Eugene and Bessie Walsh. This endowment has allowed the division to award four scholarships in the last academic year and 34 awards since the fund’s establishment. The division is grateful to Carl and Judy Walsh for their foresight in ensuring student success through this critical financial support for years to come.
