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May 6, 2004
To: Campus Community
From: Margaret L. Delaney, Campus Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor
Re: Message from Campus Provost/EVC Delaney
Lynda J. Goff, Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education at UC Santa Cruz, has announced her resignation from her position, effective June 30, 2004, when her five-year appointment expires.
"There are numerous exciting projects that I've had an opportunity to work on as Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education, and I am very proud of everything this office has accomplished during my tenure," Dr. Goff said. As I look forward to new opportunities that I am eager to tackle, I am satisfied that I'm leaving UCSC's undergraduate education in even better organization than when I started this job six years ago."
Michael Tanner, the executive vice chancellor at the time, appointed Dr. Goff in 1998 to a half-time position. A year later, with unanimous endorsement of a Senate-approved selection committee, Campus Provost/EVC John Simpson appointed her to serve as Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education (VP/DUE), the first such full-time position in the history of UC Santa Cruz.
Besides pioneering the position at UCSC, Dr. Goff initially was one of only two undergraduate deans in the UC system. Now, every UC campus has such a position, and Dr. Goff helped in posing the issues and advancing the agenda for undergraduate education systemwide and in furthering these discussions nationally.
At UC Santa Cruz, her accomplishments also have been significant and long-lasting. As VP/DUE, her responsibilities included working with the academic deans, college provosts, the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, and the Academic Senate on the assessment and development of undergraduate curricula, international education, and enhancing teaching and learning campuswide. She was an active fundraiser for college-based programs and has worked extensively with the alumni and college provosts to build college endowments. She served as the campus liaison for the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) re-accreditation process that will be completed in 2005. After the recent visit of the Capacity Review Team, WASC reported that the UC Santa Cruz effort was the "most positive" such report received.
Dr. Goff also succeeded in bringing significant grant funding to the campus. A co-principal investigator for the Center for Informal Learning and Schools (CILS), she helped initiate and lead one of only eight such centers funded by the National Science Foundation to encourage the teaching and learning of science and mathematics. The $17.5 million project involves collaboration with campus colleagues as well as the San Francisco Exploratorium and Kings College in London, England. She has also obtained significant funding in support of undergraduate education from the Hewlett Foundation and for support of new educational and research programs for the UCSC Arboretum.
Dr. Goff has served on the Chancellor's Cabinet and has contributed to the Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) process currently under way, as well as the Executive Budget Committee process. During her tenure as dean, Dr. Goff made a variety of decisions that promise lasting impact on the lives of undergraduates, such as instituting an annual recognition ceremony for student academic and artistic achievements and directing the design of significant improvements to the colleges' core courses, improving advising, and helping the campus transition to what the Chronicle of Higher Education describes as "the most rigorous system of student assessment in the country."
"Lynda has been one of the strongest and most eloquent voices for undergraduates at the university," commented Martin Chemers, Acting Chancellor, "I have enjoyed working with her over the last six years, have always marveled at her quick understanding of ideas, and have delighted in seeing her make fast friends with both students and parents. Lynda will be missed on both a personal and professional level in the Chancellor's Office."
Dr. Goff is a Professor of Biology at UC Santa Cruz, with numerous awards and recognitions to her credit, including a National Science Foundation Medal for Antarctic Research, and she is a Fellow of both the California Academy of Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She remains active in both research and teaching and will hood one of her doctoral students in June.
Please join me in thanking Dr. Lynda Goff for her outstanding service and important contributions as Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education.
Maintained by:pioweb@ucsc.edu