Academic Personnel Newsletters

In This Message

• Words from the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs
• AP Fall Kickoff Meeting
• Welcome Deans Lester and Irwin
• New, Retired, and Tenured Faculty
• 2026-27 Award Recipients
• 2026-27 Hellman Family Fellowship Award Winners
• Name Formatting in AP Folio
• Upcoming Trainings and Workshops

Words from Vice Provost Dana Mastro

As we begin the new academic year, I want to extend my warmest welcome to our returning faculty and staff, as well as to the new members of our campus community. Last year marked the start of several new policies and initiatives that are now fully underway. I would like to take a moment to highlight a few updates:

Celebrating the Success of Our Faculty Mentoring Program

This past year we launched the UCSB Faculty Mentoring Program to foster community, elevate career guidance, and expand collaborative networks. Thanks to the incredible engagement from our faculty, the program’s first year was a notable success. Dozens of senior colleagues stepped forward as mentors and convenors, providing one-on-one guidance, career mapping, and support for our early-career scholars, while creating welcoming spaces for honest conversation. At the same time, over 40 assistant professors and newly appointed faculty actively participated, bringing fresh perspectives and vitality to the program’s inaugural cohort and shaping the program’s direction for the future. With this high level of involvement, alongside the leadership and dedication of the Program Director, we have helped to lay a permanent foundation for faculty thriving at UC Santa Barbara. I am deeply grateful to every faculty member who invested their time and expertise in this endeavor.

Key Reminder: Department Merit Reviews & Fillable Forms

With the fall quarter underway, we also enter the faculty merit review cycle. We appreciate the immense care and effort departments put into evaluating peer performance and guiding colleagues through advancement on the ladder. To ensure consistency, transparency, and timely processing, please remember that all department merit reviews must be submitted using the official Department fillable forms.

To assist department chairs, personnel committees, and analysts in utilizing these forms, four fully completed sample forms (reflecting various ranks and disciplines) alongside a video demonstrating how to use the forms, have been uploaded for reference on the AP Website under “Resources for Academic Employees.” Reviewing these materials in advance helps ensure that department evaluations align with campus policies and expectations, minimizing processing delays.

Looking Ahead

There is no doubt that AI and emerging technologies remain top-of-mind across higher education. As these tools continue to shape academic discussions and the landscape more broadly, we look forward to collaborating across our campus community to help provide clarity, guidance, and opportunities for open dialogue on AI in Academic Personnel processes.

Thank you for your continued commitment to research excellence, transformative teaching, and mutual support. I wish you a successful quarter and a productive, fulfilling year ahead.

AP Fall Kickoff Meeting

We invite all Department Chairs, MSOs, and AP staff to attend.

We will discuss recent and upcoming policy and system changes, this year’s merit and recruitment cycles, AP’s strategic planning efforts, and other AP-related issues of which departments should be aware.

The Kickoff Meeting will be held:

• Date: Wednesday, September 30, 2026
• Time: 10:00-11:30AM
• Location: McCune Conference Room (HSSB, Room 6020)

Refreshments and coffee will be served.

Zoom link for those unable to attend in person.

New Dean Appointments

Elena Irwin, Bren School of Environmental Science and Management

Dr. Elena Irwin has been appointed Dean of the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management. She stepped into her new role on September 14, 2026. Dr. Irwin joins UCSB from The Ohio State University, where she served as a distinguished professor and the founding director of the Sustainability Institute. Details on Dr. Irwin's new appointment are available in the Office of the Chancellor's announcement.

Jaime Lester, Gevirtz Graduate School of Education

Professor Jaime Lester has been appointed Dean of the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education. The appointment comes with the title of Jules Zimmer Dean of the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education. She stepped into her new role July 1, 2026. Dr. Lester joins UCSB from the Johns Hopkins University School of Education, where she served as Vice Dean and Professor. Details on Dr. Lester's new appointment are available in the Office of the Chancellor's announcement.

Welcome New Faculty

We extend a warm welcome to our new faculty colleagues.

• Zhuo Ban, Asian American Studies and Global Studies
• Erez Berg, Electrical Engineering and Materials
• Jin-Woo Choi, History
• Araceli Enriquez Andrade, Education
• Elena Irwin, Bren School of Environmental Science and Management
• Basak Kalkanci, Bren School of Environmental Science and Management
• Saori Katada, Political Science
• Catherine Klapperich, Bioengineering
• Young Joon Kwak, Art
• Jaime Lester, Education
• Anna Papp, Bren School of Environmental Science and Management

Recognition of Retired Faculty

We thank the following faculty who retired during the 2025-26 academic year for their service to UCSB.

• Eileen Boris, Feminist Studies
• Forrest Brewer, Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Juan Campo, English and Religious Studies
• Julie Carlson, English
• Jordan Clark, Earth Science and Environmental Studies Program
• Andrés Consoli, Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology
• Ruth Finkelstein, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
• Steve Gaines, Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology
• Konstadinos Goulias, Geography
• Mary Hegarty, Psychological and Brain Sciences
• Barbara Holdrege, Religious Studies
• Bruce Kendall, BREN
• Armand Kuris, Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology
• G (John) Lew, Biomolecular Science and Engineering and Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
• Pei-Te Lien, Political Science
• Dan Linz, Communication
• John Martinis, Physics
• Mark Maslan, English
• Eric Matthys, Mechanical Engineering
• Jan Nederveen Pieterse, Global Studies, Sociology
• Catherine Nesci, French and Italian
• Behrooz Parhami, Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Linda Petzold, Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering
• W (James) Potter, Communication
• Celia Herrera Rodríguez, Chicana and Chicano Studies
• Kenneth Rose, Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Denise Segura, Sociology
• David Siegel, Geography
• Richard (Dick) Startz, Economics
• Samuel Sweet, Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology
• Claude Weisbuch, Materials
• Heidi Zetzer, Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology

Congratulations Newly Tenured Faculty

We are delighted to recognize our newly tenured colleagues.

• Jonathan Balkind, Computer Science
• Giovanni Batz, Chicana and Chicano Studies
• Laurel Brehm, Linguistics
• Emilio Carlo Maria Capettini, Classics
• Utathya Chattopadhyaya, History
• Jia-Ching Chen, Global Studies
• Mona Damluji, Film and Media Studies
• Morgan Gainer, Chemistry and Biochemistry
• Brooke Gardner, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
• Brandon Greene, Biomolecular Science and Engineering and Chemistry and Biochemistry
• Jennifer Jacobs, Media Arts and Technology
• Tae-Yeoun Keum, Political Science
• Kate Kharitonova, Computer Science
• Sung Soo Kim, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
• Dana Kornberg, Sociology
• Petra Kranzfelder, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
• Yader Lanuza, Sociology
• Andy Macdonald, Bren School of Environmental Science and Management
• Daniel Masterson, Political Science
• Ziad Matni, Computer Science
• Max Millar-Blanchaer, Physics
• Meghan Morrissey, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
• Teja Nerella, Physics
• William Nomikos, Political Science
• Fabian Offert, Germanic and Slavic Studies
• Michelle Petty, College of Creative Studies and Writing Program
• Yao Qin, Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Ananya Renuka Balakrishna, Materials
• Elana Resnick, Anthropology
• Chris Richardson, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
• Silvia Rodriguez Vega, Chicana and Chicano Studies
• Joel Sharbrough, Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology
• brooke smiley, Theater and Dance
• Thomas Sprague, Psychological and Brain Sciences
• Kai Thaler, Global Studies
• Nic Thompson Gonzalez, Anthropology
• Geoff Tsai, Mechanical Engineering
• Sagar Vijay, Physics

2026-27 Career Development Awards and Fellowships

Career Development Awards and Fellowships are designed to provide faculty with time to strengthen their record of research/creative activities by providing course release funds or summer research support.

The three Award and Fellowship designations include:

• Faculty Career Development Award (FCDA)
• Regents' Junior Faculty Fellowship (RJFF)
• Regents' Humanities Faculty Fellowship (RHFF)

Congratulations to the recipients below:

• Heidi Amin-Hong, English, RJFF, “Transpacific Contaminations: Cold War Afterlives and the Aesthetics of Remediation”
• Andrea Carlini, Chemistry and Biochemistry, FCDA, “Smart Wound Dressings: A Self-Reporting Platform for Wound Healing”
• Marley Dewey, Bioengineering, RJFF, “Uncovering fundamental and translational questions of matrix-bound nanovesicles to improve wound repair”
• Christine Garnier, History of Art & Architecture, RJFF, “The American Silverscape: Art, Extraction, and Visual Sovereignty”
• Iris Holzer, Environmental Studies Program, RJFF, “Connecting short-term soil weathering fluxes to global climate policy”
• Lynn "Lina" Hou, Linguistics, RHFF, “What's in a name sign? The curious case of name signs of American Sign Language signers in US and Canada”
• Jessica Ivani, Linguistics, RJFF, “Release of Tymber: an open typological database of grammatical number marking”
• Ricado Jacobs, Global Studies, RJFF, “Urban Agrarian Specters: Reclaiming Land and Remaking Space, Class, Race, and Indigeneity in Global South Africa”
• Sukhun Kang, Technology Management, FCDA, “Transitional Capacity: A New Lens for Understanding Growth and Competitive Advantage in R&D-Intensive Industries”
• Paul Kohlbry, Global Studies, RJFF, “Making the Desert Green:  Digital Agriculture in the Middle East and Africa”
• Jessica López Espino, Sociology, FCDA, “Hearing Child Welfare: Ideologies of Latinx Parenthood in a California Dependency Court”
• Jason Ludwig, Film and Media Studies, RJFF, “Printout Politics: Race, Urban 'Need,' and the Automation of Municipal Fiscal Policy”
• Mae Miller-Likhethe, Global Studies, FCDA, “Oceanic Groundings: Black Internationalism, Political Education, and Radical Place-Making on the Interwar Waterfront”
• Ruben Ochoa, Art, RJFF, “¡Vendedores, Presente!”
• Stephanie Pazos, Chemistry and Biochemistry, FCDA, “Assessing Skill Transfer and Metacognitive Growth in Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratories: A Mixed-Methods Approach”
• Alexandra Phillips, Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, RJFF, “Public Sentiment on Emerging Uses of Ocean Space”
• Mayra Puente, Education, FCDA, “Pláticas Across Place: A Longitudinal Humanistic Study of Rural Latinx College Transitions”
• Jason Somerville, Economics, FCDA, “Understanding and Mitigating Within-Task Performance Declines”
• Phung Su, Sociology, FCDA, “Parting Paths: Vietnamese Migrant Wives and the Men Left Behind”
• Cori Tucker-Price, Religious Studies, RJFF, “The People's Map: Using Migration as Methodology to Study Black Los Angeles”
• Matthias Wink, Mathematics, RJFF, “Symmetries”
• Wenfei Xu, Geography, RJFF, “The New Geography of Opportunity in California”
• Yong Zhou, Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, RJFF, “Trophic Rewilding: The Carbon Footprint of African Savanna Elephant”

2026-27 Hellman Family Fellowship Award Winners

The purpose of the Hellman Fellows program is to provide substantial support for the research of promising Assistant Professors who show capacity for great distinction in their research. The award is designed to aid targeted faculty near the middle of their pre-tenure period in developing a strong research record in preparation for tenure review. We congratulate this year's award recipients:

• Christine Garnier, History of Art and Architecture, “The American Silverscape: Art, Extraction, and Visual Sovereignty”
• Jessica López-Espino, Sociology, “Hearing Child Welfare & Raised by the State”
• Cesar Martinez Alvarez, Political Science, “Local and Indigenous Forest Governance Under Climate Change”
• Carrie Mills, Bioengineering, “Harnessing Nature’s Blueprints to Accelerate Microbial Plastic Degradation”
• Ruth Oliver, Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, “Creating the Ecology of Death”
• Daniel Oropeza Gomez, Materials, “Nature-inspired shaping of medical isotope targets: a paradigm shift for sustainable production of medical radioisotopes”
• Jaime Pérez González, Linguistics, “Voices that Resist: Comprehensive Documentation of Moocho’ (Mayan) for Grammatical Analysis and Lexicographic Compilation”

Lived/Preferred Names in AP Folio

Although AP Folio is the system of record for most academic employees, employee names are automatically derived from UCPath and Identity Management. If you would like your AP Folio record to reflect your lived/preferred name, including accented characters, please be sure to update both systems:

• UCPath: Navigate to “Personal Information”
• Identity & Access Management: Navigate to “Edit Profile”

Upcoming Training and Workshops

Dates and times for upcoming AP training and workshops for both faculty and staff are posted on our website, alongside presentations and dmaterials from past courses and workshops.

Upcoming Faculty Workshops include:

• Open-forum office hours with the VPAA every quarter
• Bio-bib workshop session
• M&P Workshop for early career faculty
• M&P workshop for Department Chairs
• Search Plan and Applicant Management training for search committees

Upcoming Staff Trainings include:

• AP Certificate Classes
• AP Workshops on specific topics

Reminder: Staff who work with AP are expected to attend the relevant topic workshops every year to ensure that they are up to date on policy, procedure, and best practice. These workshops are also meant to be interactive sessions, so please bring your questions and discussion points.

Please visit the Training and Workshop Registration page to register.