Introducing UC Berkeley’s interim head of undergraduate education
Oliver M. O’Reilly has demonstrated his deep commitment to the instructional and research mission of the campus
May 13, 2021
Chancellor Carol T. Christ and Paul Alivisatos, executive vice chancellor and provost, sent the following message to the campus community on
We are pleased to announce that Oliver M. O’Reilly has agreed to serve as interim vice provost for undergraduate education. This appointment is effective on July 1, 2021.
Oliver is a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and associate dean for graduate studies in the Division of Computing, Data Science, and Society. He served as chair of the Berkeley Division of the Academic Senate during the 2019-2020 academic year.
Born and raised in Galway, Ireland, Oliver received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the National University of Ireland, Galway, and his master’s and a doctorate in theoretical and applied mechanics from Cornell University. He joined the faculty in mechanical engineering at UC Berkeley in 1992. His research interests span the fields of continuum mechanics and nonlinear dynamics.
Throughout his career, Oliver has demonstrated his deep commitment to the instructional and research mission of the campus as well as to furthering diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. He has served on and chaired numerous committees and task forces that have furthered this work, most recently serving as co-chair of the Task Force on Instructional Resilience, the Task Force on Instructional Planning and Policy, and the Chancellor’s Task Force on the Celebration of 150 Years of Women at UC Berkeley.
Oliver will serve as interim vice provost for undergraduate education for the period of time that Cathy Koshland will be serving as interim executive vice chancellor and provost (EVCP). Information about the EVCP search, including the search timeline, can be found on the EVCP website.
Please join us in congratulating Oliver and in thanking him for helping us through this transition