July 9, 2025

Dear Members of Our Campus Community,

I am writing to share with you that after 15 years as the Dean of our Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, Dr. Steve Gaines has shared his intention to step down as Dean, effective September 1, 2025. Dean Gaines will continue his research and mentorship of graduate students as a Distinguished Emeritus Professor in our Bren School.

I want to take this opportunity to thank Dean Gaines for his tremendous contributions to our campus and our Bren School of Environmental Science and Management. Under his leadership, our Bren School continues as a richly integrated multidisciplinary academic program with distinguished faculty, playing a leading role in researching solutions to environmental issues and training research scientists and environmental management professionals.

During his tenure, the Bren School launched several new programs, including the Master of Environmental Data Science program, a one-year professional degree program focused on using data science to advance solutions to environmental problems; the Strategic Environmental Communications Focus, which magnifies the impact of Bren graduates by enhancing their communications skills; and the Innovation and Entrepreneurship program, which inspires students to drive creative new environmental solutions within new and existing ventures.

A Distinguished Professor at UC Santa Barbara since 2010, Steve is a highly regarded researcher in marine ecology and conservation, sustainable fisheries, the design of marine reserves, and the impact of climate change on ocean ecosystems. During his time at UC Santa Barbara, he has served as Director of our Marine Science Institute, and as Acting Dean of Science and Acting Vice Chancellor for Research. He is a principal investigator for emLab Ocean and Fisheries projects, which focus on scalable solutions for the world’s fisheries through partnerships among UC Santa Barbara researchers, industry leaders, NGOs, and governments. He is a member of the Board of Trustees for several environmental NGOs, including Rare and the Resources Legacy Fund. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a recipient of several awards, including the Peter Benchley Ocean Award for Excellence in Science and the Inaugural Marc J. Hershman Award for Excellence in Mentoring, chosen by the Joint Ocean Commission.

We will consult with our Academic Senate, Executive Vice Chancellor, academic deans, faculty, staff, and administrative colleagues to form a search advisory committee for this important position, and to conduct a national search. 

Please join me in congratulating and thanking Steve for his outstanding leadership as Dean, and his continuing contributions as our faculty colleague.

Sincerely,

Henry T. Yang
Chancellor