SUBJECT:

Appointment of Acting Dean of the Graduate Division

I am pleased to announce that Steven Cassedy, Associate Dean of the Graduate Division and Distinguished Professor of Literature, has been appointed to serve as Acting Dean, effective July 1 through December 31, 2015, during a well-deserved period of sabbatical for Dean Kim Barrett.

In addition to his current leadership role in the Division, Professor Cassedy continues his career as a teacher and renowned scholar of Russian literature, other Western European literatures, intellectual history of the West, and Russian-Jewish and American-Jewish cultural history. His most recent book, Connected - How Trains, Genes, Pineapples, Piano Keys, and a Few Disasters Transformed Americans at the Dawn of the Twentieth Century (published by Stanford University Press, 2014) has received acclaim from both lay and scholarly readers, and has been reviewed in the Boston Globe and San Diego Union-Tribune, among others. The volume received a Gold Medal in the IPPY (Independent Publisher) Book Awards.

Please join me in thanking Professor Cassedy for his leadership and commitment to the Graduate Division and the campus.

Suresh Subramani Executive Vice Chancellor