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Administrative Message

March 2, 2005

To: UC Santa Cruz Colleagues

From: Denice D. Denton, Chancellor

Re: Chancellor Announces Key Administrative Transitions

With this message, I announce some key administrative transitions that will occur soon.

After completing nearly a year of excellent service, Margaret L. (Peggy) Delaney will step down from the position of Interim Campus Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor at the end of the winter quarter.

Professor Delaney has provided outstanding academic leadership during a period of pivotal campus transition, and I want to thank her personally for her dedication.

Previous extensive campus service well prepared Professor Delaney for the laudable leadership she has provided as Interim Campus Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor. In this regard, among her previous contributions to the campus are service as the Department Chair of Ocean Sciences; active participation on important Academic Senate committees, including the Committee on Privilege and Tenure, the Graduate Council, and the Committee on Planning and Budget; and her membership on other key campus committees, including the Strategic Futures Committee. Immediately prior to her appointment as Interim Campus Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor, she served as Vice Chair of the Academic Senate.

During her tenure as Interim Campus Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor, Professor Delaney successfully administered the continued progress of a number of critical and strategic campus initiatives, including the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) review, the Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) process, academic planning, and the business and IT transformation projects. Her commitment to shared governance was reflected in the appointment of additional Academic Senate representation on numerous administrative committees. Besides commendable efforts as an administrator, Professor Delaney demonstrated many admirable leadership traits, including a preference for collaboration and inclusiveness.

Professor Delaney will return to her duties as Professor of Ocean Sciences, effective March 18. She will continue her highly regarded teaching activities and pursue her outstanding research in paleoceanography and marine geochemistry. Her research uses the geochemical records preserved in marine sediments to understand long-term changes in the oceans, and its quality and importance were recognized by Professor Delaney's election in 2004 as a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union.

I invite the entire campus to join me in thanking Professor Delaney for her excellent service during her tenure as Interim Campus Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor and wishing her continued success in her future endeavors.

It is with great appreciation that I announce that Dean David Kliger will be recommended to President Dynes and the UC Regents for appointment to the position of Interim Campus Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor, effective March 19. Currently serving as dean of the Physical and Biological Sciences Division since 1990, Professor Kliger brings an ideal background for this position. In addition to leading a complex division during a time of growth and change, he is respected as a thoughtful and articulate campus leader, with a long and distinguished record of service to the campus. Professor Kliger has served as Academic Preceptor and Chair of the Faculty in both Kresge and in Oakes Colleges and he initiated several successful student academic support programs in his division. He served as Chair of the Academic Senate and as a member of the University Academic Council from 1988 - 1990, and he currently serves as a member of the Senate Committee on Faculty Research Lecture. Over the years, he has contributed significantly to many critical academic planning and budget review processes. He has served as a member of the Executive Budget Committee since its inception, and this past year, he was elected by his fellow deans to chair the Council of Deans. In that role, he also has served as a member of the Chancellor's Cabinet.

A professor of Chemistry who earned his B.S. degree at Rutgers University and his Ph.D. at Cornell University, David Kliger joined UC Santa Cruz in 1971. His primary research interests span the fields of physical chemistry and biophysics. His work focuses on developing a variety of time-resolved spectroscopic techniques and applying them to a wide range of photochemical, photophysical, and photobiological problems.

UC Santa Cruz is fortunate that someone of Professor Kliger's experience and expertise is available to fill this interim position, and I thank him for his commitment.

I am pleased to announce that another excellent leader will serve as Interim Dean of the Physical and Biological Sciences Division, when Professor Kliger assumes his new role. Currently chair of the Astronomy and Astrophysics Department and Associate Dean of the Physical and Biological Sciences Division, Professor Stephen Thorsett previously served for three years on the Committee on Research, which he chaired for two years, during which time he also served on the Senate Advisory Committee/Senate Executive Committee. Professor Thorsett was a member of the systemwide University Committee on Research Policy (UCORP) for two years, including a year as chair of the UCORP subcommittee on restrictions in research. For the past two years, he has served as the Senate's Parliamentarian. A Carleton College graduate in Math, with honors, Professor Thorsett earned his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Physics from Princeton University. A faculty member of UC Santa Cruz since 1999, his research is in observational studies of radio pulsars and other compact objects, and of gamma-ray bursts.

UC Santa Cruz will be very well served with these two interim appointments. I am seeking input regarding the search to fill the Executive Vice Chancellor position on a permanent basis, and I expect to commence that process as soon as possible.

Again, please join me in thanking Peggy Delaney for her excellent service as Interim CP/EVC. And, please join me in congratulating Dave Kliger and Steve Thorsett and in supporting them in their new roles.

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