CAMPUS NOTICE

 

OFFICE OF THE CHANCELLOR

July 25, 2013


ALL ACADEMICS, STAFF AND STUDENTS AT UC SAN DIEGO

SUBJECT:    Appointment of Margaret Leinen as Director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Vice Chancellor and Dean of Marine Sciences

I am very pleased to announce the appointment of Margaret Leinen, Ph.D., as the Vice Chancellor Marine Sciences, Director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and Dean of the School of Marine Sciences. Dr. Leinen is a highly distinguished oceanographer and recognized leader with extensive experience in ocean and environmental sciences at the national and international levels. Her experience includes academic leadership and executive positions in professional organizations and the private sector. She will join UC San Diego in October 2013.

Dr. Leinenšs selection follows a national search for a prominent scientist to lead Scripps Oceanography's ocean, earth, and atmospheric sciences research and education programs. She has extensive national and international experience in ocean science, global climate and environmental issues, federal research administration, and non-profit startups. Most recently, she has served as Associate Provost of Marine and Environmental Initiatives and Executive Director of the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, a unit of Florida Atlantic University. She previously was Vice Provost for Marine and Environmental Programs and Dean of the Graduate School of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island.

Dr. Leinen also served for seven years at the National Science Foundation (NSF), joining NSF in 2000 as Assistant Director for Geosciences and Coordinator of Environmental Research and Education. She oversaw a budget of $700 million, led government-wide planning for climate research, and co-led government planning for ocean research.

In 2012, Dr. Leinen was elected to the presidency of the American Geophysical Union, where she will serve in high-level leadership positions through 2018. She is also vice chair of the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, formed as an independent entity to provide research and administrative leadership for the 10-year, $500 million research program funded by BP in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil leak disaster.

Dr. Leinen is the founder and served as president of the Climate Response Fund, a non-profit organization that works to foster discussion of climate engineering research. She also spent two years as the chief science officer of Climos, Inc., a startup focused on green technology for climate mitigation.

She is past chair of the Atmospheric and Hydrospheric Science Section of the American Academy for the Advancement of Science and is a past president of The Oceanography Society. She is on the board of the National Council for Science and the Environment and the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON). She also served as vice chair of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme, and on the Global Change Board of the National Research Council/National Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Leinen is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a Fellow of the Geological Society of America. She has earned a distinguished record of achievement as an experienced international leader who will join Scripps during an exciting time in our history. Please join me in welcoming her to UC San Diego.



Pradeep K. Khosla
Chancellor