SUBJECT:

Appointment of Kit Pogliano as Graduate Division Dean

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Kit Pogliano as the next Dean of the Graduate Division effective April 1, 2017.

A member of the UC San Diego faculty since 1996, Dr. Pogliano is a Professor and current Chair of the Molecular Biology section in the Division of Biological Sciences. She also serves as Director of the Microbial Sciences Graduate Research Initiative and Co-Director of the UC San Diego Microbiome and Microbial Sciences Initiative. Her current research focuses on the application of bacterial cell biology to the discovery of new antibiotics and the development of diagnostics for multidrug resistant bacterial infections. She cofounded a company to bring this technology to the pharmaceutical industry to accelerate drug discovery. She received her Ph.D. from the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at Harvard Medical School and was a Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University. She is a recipient of the Searle Scholar and Beckman Young Investigator awards and is a named Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology.

Dr. Pogliano's considerable service contributions to the campus include her role as founding Chair of the Standing Committee on Service- and People-Oriented Administrative Culture (January 2016-2017), which seeks to build a more streamlined and agile campus administrative structure, and to ensure that UC San Diego provides an outstanding environment for faculty, staff and students. She served as Chair of the San Diego Division of the Academic Senate in 2013-2014, Chair of the Senate Committee on Committees (2010-2012) and Chair of the Senate Committee on Affirmative Action and Diversity (2005-2006) in addition to serving on numerous administrative and departmental committees throughout her tenure.

As Graduate Dean, Dr. Pogliano will have responsibility for collaborating with academic departments to recruit and admit an excellent and diverse graduate student body. Serving as an ex-officio member of the Graduate Council of the Academic Senate, she will be responsible for administering policies, procedures, requirements, and standards for graduate study. In collaboration with the Graduate Council she will supervise the periodic reviews of all UC San Diego graduate programs to ensure enhanced program quality. In addition, she will have oversight for academic students' academic progress, financial support, student affairs, diversity activities related to graduate education, and the granting of higher degrees. Moreover, Dr. Pogliano will work to enhance graduate student life at UC San Diego, partnering with the Graduate Student Association, academic and administrative units to promote community and enhance graduate student satisfaction, expand professional development opportunities, and foster an inclusive campus climate. In addition, she will work with our General Campus academic departments to facilitate the growth of new graduate degree programs. Lastly, Dr. Pogliano will represent UC San Diego at the University of California (UC) Council of Graduate Deans, the AAU Association of Graduate Schools, the Council of Graduate schools, and other UC and national forums.

Kit Pogliano's demonstrated excellence in leadership, research and service makes her an ideal choice to lead the Graduate Division at UC San Diego. Please join us in congratulating Dr. Pogliano on her appointment. We also thank Associate Dean Steven Cassedy for his exemplary service as Interim Dean and for his efforts to ensure a seamless leadership transition for the Division.

Pradeep K. Khosla Chancellor Peter F. Cowhey Interim Executive Vice Chancellor