SUBJECT:

Appointment of the Dean of the Division of Social Sciences

We are delighted to announce that following an extensive national search, Dr. Carol Padden has been appointed Dean of the Division of Social Sciences, effective October 1, 2014.

Dr. Padden has been a member of the UC San Diego faculty in the Department of Communication since 1983, is an affiliate member of the Center for Research in Language, and a doctoral graduate of the Linguistics Department at UC San Diego. She served as Associate Dean and Faculty Equity Advisor in the Division of Social Sciences from 2008 to 2013 and currently serves as Interim Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (VC-EDI).

Dr. Padden's main areas of research are language emergence, sign language structure, and cultural life in deaf communities. She plays a central role in promoting research on sign languages around the world and in shaping policy and practices that promote the full participation of deaf people in society. In 2010, Dr. Padden was named a MacArthur Fellow by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a recipient of the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, and holds the Sanford I. Berman Chair in Language and Human Communication in the Division of Social Sciences.

As Dean of the Division of Social Sciences, Dr. Padden will lead a dynamic and highly ranked academic division with over 9,000 undergraduates, 600 graduate students, and faculty spanning ten academic departments and sixteen interdisciplinary programs and research centers that focus on some of the most pressing and important social issues of our time.

Dr. Padden's distinguished record of achievement as a scholar and administrative leader will serve her well in her role as the next Dean of the Division of Social Sciences. Please join us congratulating Carol on her appointment. Dean Jeff Elman has graciously agreed to continue his service as Dean through the end of September.

Pradeep K. Khosla Chancellor Suresh Subramani Executive Vice Chancellor - Academic Affairs