Peggy Shannon, artistic director of the Sacramento Theatre Company and a UC Davis theatre professor, has begun a new job as associate vice provost for university outreach and engagement at the university.

She will work closely with campus units to stimulate new educational programs and research initiatives that advance educational outreach and continuing education.

Shannon joins the Office of University Outreach and International Programs, which will rely on her extensive experience in fostering collaborations with educational, government, not-for-profit and business organizations both nationally and internationally.

"For most of my 20-year career, I've worked simultaneously in academia and in professional theatre," said Shannon, who began her new job Dec. 1. "I'm at home in both worlds."

Shannon will remain as artistic director of the Sacramento Theatre Company, a position she has held for the past seven years.

Also a professor of theatre and dance at UC Davis for the past five years, Shannon has taught upper-division and graduate-level classes, mentored students, and created an internship for undergraduate and graduate students with STC.

In the professional theatre world, Shannon has directed more than 100 productions at theatres throughout the United States as well as participated in program partnerships with National Public Radio and Los Angeles Theatre Works. She also has been involved in numerous artist-in-residence productions and provided academic consulting and program reviews to several universities.

In the area of educational outreach, she has created an international theatre program in Greece, in its sixth year and offered through the Summer Sessions Abroad; a professional internship between the Department of Theatre and Dance and the Sacramento Theatre Company; and a Young Professionals Company called STC-2 that "fast-tracks" talented youth from the Sacramento region into the UC Davis theatre and dance department after a year or more of intensive professional training at the Sacramento Theatre Company.

Shannon earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from UC Riverside and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Washington.