SUBJECT:

Appointment of Professor Marisa Abrajano as Interim Provost of Earl Warren College

We are pleased to announce that the Chancellor has appointed Marisa
Abrajano, Professor of Political Science, as Interim Provost of Earl
Warren College, effective September 1, 2020.

Marisa Abrajano joined the department of Political Science as an
assistant professor in 2006. Her research focuses on racial inequities
in the US political system and mechanisms for addressing them. She is
the author of four books, and has received best book awards for two. Her
latest book Talking Politics: Political Discussion Networks and the
American Electorate (with Taylor Carlson and Lisa Garcia Bedolla) was
published by Oxford University Press this year. Professor Abrajano has
published dozens of peer-reviewed articles, review/invited articles and
book chapters; many of which appear in leading outlets in the field. Her
research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the
James Irvine Foundation, UC Office of the President, and other funding
agencies.

Professor Abrajano has served for several years as co-director of
Thurgood Marshall’s Dimensions of Culture writing program. She is the
current chair of the Committee on Academic Personnel and previously
served as CAP vice-chair and as a committee member. She has been
co-president for the American Political Science Association’s (APSA)
section on Race, Ethnicity and Politics, and as co-editor of the
section’s official journal, The Journal of Race, Ethnicity and Politics.
Professor Abrajano has also served as president of APSA’s Latino Caucus,
and on numerous professional committees.

Herself a UC graduate and first-generation college student, Professor
Abrajano is deeply committed to issues of diversity, equity and
inclusion. She teaches courses on Latino politics in the US, Race and
Politics in the US, DOC 1: Diversity, and the Politics of Immigration.
In recognition of these efforts, she was awarded with the Diversity,
Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Distinguished Teaching Award in 2014.
Additionally, she has mentored and advised numerous graduate and
undergraduate students through the STARS program, the McNair program and
through independent studies and internships.

We thank Professor Abrajano for her commitment to lead Warren College
during this interim period. The search for Warren College’s next Provost
will take place during the Fall 2020 quarter.

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