Lisa García Bedolla named new top graduate administrator

Dear campus community,

I am very pleased to announce that Professor of Education and Director of the Institute of Governmental Studies Lisa García Bedolla has been appointed to be UC Berkeley’s next Vice Provost for Graduate Studies & Dean of the Graduate Division. Lisa is a renowned scholar, a gifted teacher and mentor, and a highly respected campus leader who will ensure that we continue to build on a long tradition of offering world-class graduate education at Berkeley. She will begin her appointment on July 1, 2019.

Professor Lisa García Bedolla was recognized as a renowned scholar, a gifted teacher and mentor, and a highly respected campus leader.

Lisa takes up this role at a time when the Berkeley community is closely examining the changing intellectual, professional, and personal goals and needs of today’s graduate degree-seekers. In line with our recently completed strategic plan, she will play a central part in developing a vision and strategy for ensuring that our learning community continues to serve the evolving needs of Berkeley’s 11,500 graduate students. Our aim is to provide doctoral students with the training, mentorship, and financial support needed to become adept at creating new knowledge and understanding, and to empower master’s students with the information, skills, and networks that will set them on a path towards accomplishment, service to society, and leadership in their chosen fields.

Lisa García Bedolla brings deep insight and knowledge of the University and its mission as we re-envision graduate education. She is an imaginative and ambitious leader who, in addition to serving at the helm of IGS for the past two years, was chair of the Center for Latino Policy Research from 2010 to 2014, helping that center gain renewed prominence as a national resource for conducting and disseminating policy research relevant to Latinx communities. She has extensive experience on a range of Academic Senate, campus administration, and UC systemwide committees, providing a working knowledge of shared governance and a wide range of education and research issues. Her student-centered approach to teaching and scholarship shows attention to and understanding of the concerns and opportunities that Berkeley graduate students encounter. Finally, her love of Cal and deep commitment to its mission is inspiring; Lisa and her husband – both Berkeley graduates themse lves – have endowed a scholarship here for undocumented students.

A professor at Berkeley since 2008, Lisa’s own extensive body of research focuses on understanding the causes of political and economic inequalities in the United States, using cross-disciplinary approaches to examine disparities that cut across the lines of ethnicity, race, gender, class, geography, sexuality, and more. In her service to campus and her scholarly work, Lisa demonstrates an enduring commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion that will serve our institution well as she enters this new role.

In addition to welcoming Lisa to her new position, I would also like to take this opportunity to thank outgoing Vice Provost of Graduate Studies & Dean of the Graduate Division Fiona Doyle for her remarkable 36 years of service as a Berkeley faculty member and her numerous accomplishments in the VPGS role. Fiona leaves the Graduate Division in good financial shape, with a strong administrative and operational team in place as well as high morale among staff. I am immensely grateful to Fiona for her capable leadership and wise counsel, and hope you will join me in wishing her the best in a well-deserved retirement.

Sincerely,

Paul Alivisatos
Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost