SUBJECT:

Appointment of Eleanor Roosevelt College Provost

It is my pleasure to announce that Professor Alan Houston of the Department of Political Science has been appointed as the next Provost of Eleanor Roosevelt College, effective January 1, 2010.

An internationally recognized scholar of early modern British and American political thought, Professor Houston has been a member of the UC San Diego faculty since 1989. He received his Ph.D. in Government from Harvard University in 1988. His research focuses on the development of liberal, republican, and democratic ideas in Europe and America. His interests also include legal theory and constitutional law. Professor Houston has been a Visiting Fellow at Princeton University's Center for Human Values and Columbia University's Society of Fellows. He has received fellowships from the American Philosophical Society, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Office of the President of the University of California. He has written and edited four books, including the recent Benjamin Franklin and the Politics of Improvement (Yale University Press, 2008).

Professor Houston has made significant contributions to undergraduate and graduate education. In addition to having served as Director of Graduate Studies for Political Science, he has served on Senate committees to evaluate college and university programs in writing instruction and on a departmental committee that revised the graduate curriculum, instituting a sequence of core course for all incoming students. He is also an excellent teacher who consistently receives extraordinary instructor approval ratings. His service contributions to his department and the University are truly exceptional.

Professor Houston's scholarly accomplishments and his commitment to undergraduate education make him highly qualified to provide leadership as provost of Eleanor Roosevelt College. I am delighted that he has accepted this important and challenging position and hope that you will join me in offering him your best wishes and support.

Paul W. Drake Senior Vice Chancellor