SUBJECT:  Appointment of Rafael Hernandez as Director of EAOP

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Rafael S. Hernandez, Dean of Thurgood Marshall College, as Director of UCSD's Early Academic Outreach Program (EAOP). Dean Hernandez' training and broad range of professional experiences ideally prepare him to lead EAOP during this period of great challenge and opportunity. Dean Hernandez has been at UCSD since 1991 when he joined the Teacher Education Program to instruct courses and to supervise the Partners At Learning (PAL) program.

In addition to his university teaching and administrative experience, Rafael S. Hernandez brings a comprehensive set of K-12 educational experiences beginning with his 1980 service as a classroom bilingual education teacher. Since that time he has held positions in various school districts in and out of California, both as a teacher and in such diverse capacities as District Coordinator of Bilingual Education, District Equity Coordinator, and Assistant Principal. His educational training includes teaching, counseling, administration and higher education.

Dean Hernandez is an active member of the local educational community, working closely with a variety of public school personnel to conduct such activities as assisting with placement of UCSD public service mentors in field experiences and serving as Executive Director of the Summerbridge San Diego Program, a unique year-round educational development project with the motto "getting older students into teaching and younger students into learning."

We are most pleased that Dean Hernandez will be directing EAOP's efforts to raise the UC eligibility and competitive admissibility among underrepresented populations in San Diego and Imperial Counties.

                                                Loren C. Thompson
                                                Assistant Vice Chancellor
                                                Student Educational Advancement