March 12, 2020
Dear Members of Our Campus Community,
I am writing to share the news that Dean Carol Genetti of our Graduate Division has accepted the position of Vice Provost for Graduate and Postdoctoral Programs at New York University Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, beginning September 1, 2020. We will greatly miss Dean Genetti’s leadership and service to our campus, but we are excited for this opportunity for her and wish her all the best in her new position.
As our inaugural Anne and Michael Towbes Graduate Dean, Dr. Genetti has done exceptional and innovative work to develop programs that enhance graduate education and the graduate student experience. For example, she has provided enriched support for career development for our campus, and implemented courses in university pedagogy and graduate writing. She created the award-winning Grad Slam, now a signature event for UC. She instituted UC Crossroads, which has funded twelve year-long interdisciplinary research and teaching projects. During her tenure, we have increased financial support for graduate students, including establishment of the International Doctoral Recruitment Fellowship. Especially notable, she has created programs that foster inclusiveness and support for students who have been traditionally underserved by the academy, such as the Graduate Scholars Program, the fall Diversity Matters series, and the Action Collaborative Steering Committee, which she co-chairs. We are deeply grateful for her accomplishments and her dedication to graduate education, diversity, and outreach.
Beyond her eight years as Graduate Dean, Dr. Genetti has contributed to our campus in countless ways over the last three decades. She served as Associate Dean for Humanities and Fine Arts from 2005 to 2012, as Chair of our Department of Linguistics from 1999 to 2005, and as a distinguished member of our Linguistics faculty since 1990.
Her research has focused on linguistic typology, and especially on the documentation and description of Himalayan languages. She is co-founder and managing editor of the online journal Himalayan Linguistics. Her monograph A Grammar of Dolakha Newar was awarded the inaugural von der Gabelentz Award from the Association for Linguistic Typology. She has been actively involved in efforts to preserve the world’s linguistic diversity; she founded a biennial institute on language documentation and revitalization, and is the former Chair of the LSA Committee on Endangered Languages and their Preservation.
I will be consulting with our Executive Vice Chancellor, Vice Chancellor for Research, Academic Deans, Academic Senate, administrative colleagues, and members of our campus community on the appointment of an Acting Dean for our Graduate Division, and I look forward to announcing this appointment in the near future. We will also move quickly to form a search advisory committee to conduct a search for this important position.
Please join me in extending our warmest thanks and congratulations to Carol.
Sincerely,
Henry T. Yang
Chancellor