April 20, 2007
TO THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY
Dear Colleagues:
In my campus memo of February 26, I shared with you the news that after six and a half years of outstanding leadership as dean, Professor Martin Moskovits will be taking a leave of absence in order to become the chief technology officer for API Electronics. Dean Moskovits currently holds a faculty position in our Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and plans to return to our campus as a full-time professor following this leave of absence.
Following the recommendation of EVC Gene Lucas, and in consultation with the Academic Senate and administrative and faculty colleagues, I am pleased to announce that Professor Steven Gaines has graciously agreed to serve as acting dean of the Mathematical, Life, and Physical Sciences division of our College of Letters and Science, effective May 1, 2007.
Professor Gaines has been a distinguished member of our Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology since 1994, and is the director of our Marine Science Institute. From 2002 to 2005, he provided exemplary service to our campus as acting vice chancellor for research. Professor Gaines’s research focuses on marine ecology and conservation, sustainable fisheries, the design of marine reserves, the impact of climate change on marine habitats, and the relationship between ocean circulation and the dynamics of marine species. From 2003 to 2006 he held a prestigious Pew Marine Conservation Fellowship. His numerous activities at the national and international level include currently serving as a science adviser for the Joint Ocean Commission and as a principal investigator for PISCO (Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans), a long-term consortium studying marine ecosystems throughout the Pacific.
In consultation with our campus community, we are moving forward quickly to form our search advisory committee for the next MLPS dean. I look forward to making an announcement about this committee in the very near future.
Under Dean Moskovits’s leadership, our MLPS Division has risen to new heights of excellence and international prestige. We look forward with great enthusiasm to the Division’s continued growth in innovation, achievement, and stature. Please join EVC Lucas and me in expressing our heartfelt thanks to Professor Gaines for his willingness to take on this important leadership role to help our campus with the transition, in addition to all of his many other contributions to UCSB.
Sincerely,
Henry T. Yang
Chancellor