August 26, 2002
TO THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY
Dear Colleagues:
It is my pleasure to announce that Professor Kenneth Millett has agreed to serve as the Chair of the Chancellor’s Outreach Advisory Board (COAB), effective immediately. This Board, which we established in 1999, is comprised of faculty, staff and students and provides consultation and advice to the campus in the development and coordination of campus initiatives supported by university outreach funds. In collaboration with the Academic Senate, the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, and Student Affairs, COAB and our Office of Outreach Initiatives also coordinates the Faculty Outreach Grant (FOG) Program. Over the past three years, 29 FOG grants totaling over $1.6 million have been awarded primarily in outreach to partnership schools.
Ken replaces Professor Sarah Fenstermaker, who provided visionary and effective leadership since 1999. With profound gratitude and respect, I would like to acknowledge Sarah for her significant contributions and dedicated service as the founding chair of the Chancellor’s Outreach Advisory Board. On behalf of the campus community, I heartily thank her.
A longtime faculty member in Mathematics, and former Academic Senate Chair, Ken has been active in campus and system wide outreach and diversity efforts for over 30 years. He is currently the Regional Director of California Alliance for Minority Participation funded by the National Science Foundation, which provides academic support to underrepresented students who wish to enter math, science, and engineering careers. As Director of the Community Teaching Fellowship in Math and Science Program, Ken has also played a leadership role in increasing the number of UCSB students who have pursued a teaching career. In 1998, he received the Distinguished Public Service award from the American Mathematical Society for his work to advance the participation and success of underrepresented students in the mathematical sciences.
Ken is an active and award-winning researcher. He has published 40 scientific papers and edited four research volumes in his research area of geometric topology of manifolds and geometric, combinatorial, statistical, physical, and computational knot theory. Ken has received the Carl B. Allendoerfer Award and the Chauvenet Prize for his research on knot theory.
I am grateful to Ken for his willingness to serve in this important role. Despite the challenges facing outreach due to recent state budget difficulties, I am confident that Ken will provide strong leadership, and we will all work together to ensure that UCSB maintains its strong commitment to outreach and diversity.
Sincerely,
Henry T. Yang
Chancellor