SUBJECT:

Appointment of Thurgood Marshall Provost

It is my pleasure to announce that Professor Allan Havis has been appointed as the next Provost of Thurgood Marshall College, effective August 1, 2006.

Professor Havis, a highly regarded educator and playwright, received his MFA from the Yale School of Drama, and has been a member of the faculty in the Department of Theatre and Dance since 1988. He has served for many years as his department's Undergraduate Faculty Advisor and as Head of the Master of Fine Arts Program in Playwriting, including overseeing the Baldwin Festival of MFA Plays. His extensive campus-wide and departmental committee service includes participation on the Admissions Committee and the Arts Advisory Committee to the Committee on Academic Personnel (CAP). He was a founding member of the Film Studies Minor Faculty Steering Committee.

Professor Havis is an outstanding teacher and consistently receives extraordinary instructor approval ratings in student evaluations of his courses. He takes great satisfaction in the accomplishments of his students and serves as a mentor to undergraduate Michael Carnick who was recently awarded the prestigious $25,000 Samuel Goldwyn Screenwriting Award for his groundbreaking work, "Who's Driving Doug."

Havis' play, "The Haunting of Jim Crow" is of special pride for both Havis and Marshall College, for the play was commissioned and produced by the College as a KPBS radio drama; the text expanded to a full length production at the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art and was published within the year.

Said Former Provost Cecil Lytle, "I have had the opportunity to work closely with Allan on projects that advance the intellectual interests and social justice agenda of Thurgood Marshall College. He listens to students, supports staff, and will be an effective leader of the faculty in championing the academic aims of the College."

Fellow Theatre Professor and Chief Diversity Officer Jorge Huerta noted, "Thurgood Marshall College was founded with the intention of investigating, promoting and celebrating diversity. Allan's artistic output and campus and community service demonstrate that he understands and supports those high ideals. Many of his plays deal with marginalization of one kind or another or explore the many cultures that come together in this great state of immigrants as in "Nuevo California." He is one of the most dedicated teachers I have ever known."

Professor Havis is an accomplished playwright whose plays enjoy frequent productions and commissions for significant theatres. Over three decades, his plays have been produced at theatres across the country and in Europe, including San Diego Repertory Theatre, Malashock Dance/Old Globe, Seattle's ACT, Odyssey, Long Wharf, South Coast Repertory, American Repertory Theatre, Hartford Stage, Virginia Stage, WPA, and Philadelphia Theatre Company. His commissioned drama, "Restless Spirits", was a centerpiece of the San Diego Repertory Theatre's thirtieth season celebration. He has authored thirteen full length published plays including "Morocco," "Hospitality," and "The Haunting of Jim Crow," as well as an edited volume: AMERICAN POLITICAL PLAYS and a children's novel, ALBERT THE ASTRONOMER. Professor Havis is the recipient of Guggenheim, Rockefeller, McKnight, Kennedy Center/American Express, CBS, HBO, and National Endowment for the Arts awards.

I am delighted that Allan has accepted this important and challenging position and hope that you will join me in offering him your best wishes and support. Please also join me in thanking Professor Robert Kluender for his outstanding service to our campus as Interim Provost this academic year.

Marsha A. Chandler Senior Vice Chancellor