Social Sciences Dean Appointed

UC Santa Barbara has named a prominent sociologist and innovative foundation leader as its next dean of social sciences.

Melvin L. Oliver has been, since 1996, vice president for asset building and community development at the Ford Foundation, an international grant-making organization that is one of the largest and most accomplished private philanthropies in the United States. Oliver is expected to take up his UCSB duties by April 1, 2004.

The division's associate dean, John Woolley, professor of political science, has been serving as acting dean and will continue in that role until April.

Oliver joined the New York-based foundation after more than two decades on the faculty at UCLA, where he served as a professor of sociology and policy studies, a director of the Center for the Study of Urban Poverty, the chair of an interdepartmental B.A. and M.A. program in African-American Studies, and a faculty associate of the Center for Afro-American Studies.

"I am extremely pleased to announce this appointment, which is the product of an extensive national search," said Chancellor Henry T. Yang. "Professor Oliver is a leading scholar and social scientist who has done pioneering research on wealth and racial stratification, inter-ethnic conflict, urban poverty, and social welfare policy in the United States. He also is a seasoned administrator with vision and determination as well as impressive leadership skills."

Of his appointment, Oliver said: "I am delighted to join UCSB as dean of social sciences, and I am gratified by the strength of support for my appointment from both the faculty and administration. I believe the Division of Social Sciences–with its already strong interdisciplinary emphasis, its focus on new areas of scholarship, and its commitment to cutting-edge research, teaching, and training–is uniquely poised to make significant contributions to public issues and policy, locally, nationally, and globally."

The Division of Social Sciences is part of UCSB's College of Letters & Science, which enrolls 80 percent of all undergraduates. The division includes 12 departments or programs.

An award-winning author, Oliver also has a distinguished record as a teacher and mentor. He designed and co-taught the first course in ethnic studies at UCLA, bringing undergraduates in contact with ethnic studies scholars and actively engaging them in community service projects and research.

Oliver succeeds Edward Donnerstein, dean of social sciences from 1997 to 2002, who left UCSB for the University of Arizona.