SUBJECT:

Appointment of Professor Kate Antonovics as Seventh College Provost

It is with great pleasure that we announce the appointment of Kate Antonovics, Teaching Professor in the Department of Economics, as the inaugural Provost of Seventh College effective January 1, 2020.

Professor Antonovics has served as Interim Provost of Seventh College since September 2019, and as Acting Provost of Revelle College during the previous academic year. She has been a member of the Economics faculty since 2000. Professor Antonovics’ primary research is in the field of labor economics; she has written papers on racial discrimination, gender discrimination, affirmative action, intergenerational income mobility, learning, and wage dynamics. She is the co-author of two introductory-level textbooks, Principles of Economics and Principles of Economics: A Streamlined Approach, jointly authored with Ben Bernanke, Robert Frank, and Ori Heffetz.

Professor Antonovics has a demonstrated record of excellence in teaching. Her introductory-level economics course regularly enrolls over 800 students each fall, and she is a recipient of the Chancellor’s Associates Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (2018) and the Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Award (2015). Professor Antonovics is deeply committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive environment on campus and has a strong record of service to the university. She served as a member, then Chair of Muir College’s Executive Committee, and served as the Vice-Chair of Instruction for the Economics Department from 2007 to 2012. She has also served on the Committee on Admissions, the Senate Awards Committee, and collaborated on drafting the 2017 Faculty Equity Review Workgroup Report. In partnership with Professor Prashant Bharadwaj, Professor Antonovics developed the first course in the Department of Economics to fulfill the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) graduation requirement.

Professor Antonovics has demonstrated a deep commitment to the success of Seventh College and to creating an inclusive and welcoming community for its students, with the first cohort set to arrive in Fall 2020. As Interim Provost, she has made a critical first wave of staff hires including deans of Academic Advising and Student Affairs and a College Operations and Programs Analyst, has shepherded the establishment of the Seventh College Faculty Executive Committee, and identified a dedicated group of founding Seventh College faculty. As the inaugural Provost, Professor Antonovics will spearhead the implementation of the Seventh College Academic Plan centered on the theme of “A Changing Planet,” will provide oversight for the hiring process for Seventh College staff, and oversee preparations for the Village to become the home of Seventh College in Fall 2020.

We are delighted to have Professor Antonovics at the helm of Seventh College during this exciting time. Please join us in congratulating Provost Antonovics on her appointment, and in wishing her every success as she embarks on this eventful next chapter.

Pradeep K. Khosla Chancellor Elizabeth H. Simmons Executive Vice Chancellor