UC Davis has launched nationwide recruitments for two key positions: dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and vice chancellor of Student Affairs.

For each search, the university will convene town hall meetings as a first step in the recruitment process so that members of the UC Davis community have an opportunity to ask questions about the process and offer advice about the desired qualifications for candidates. Information gathered at these meetings will be used to develop position profiles to use in recruiting candidates.

CA&ES dean

The campus has established both an internal search committee and an external advisory committee to guide the search and recruitment, which officials are aiming to conclude by April.

Neal Van Alfen stepped down as dean in August to return to his faculty position in the Department of Plant Pathology. Associate Dean Mary Delany, a distinguished avian geneticist, is serving as interim dean.

The recruitment advisory committee, chaired by Michael Lairmore, dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine, and co-chaired by animal science professor Joy Mench, is composed primarily of faculty, staff and students.

In addition, to ensure that the search is informed by the opinions of UC Davis’ external stakeholders, the campus has formed an external advisory committee, comprising representatives from the agricultural and environmental communities, industry and government. The committee is co-chaired by Karen Ross, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, and Howard Shapiro, chief agricultural officer for Mars Inc. Ross and Shapiro also serve on the recruitment advisory committee.

The dean serves as the college’s chief academic and administrative officer, with responsibility for its academic and outreach leadership, as well as management of its resources, including faculty and staff, physical facilities and budget. The dean also oversees cutting-edge research and top-ranked education programs, addressing critical issues related to agriculture and food systems, the environment, and human and social sciences. 

The College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the campus’s oldest college, today is home to 15 departments that comprise three divisions: Agricultural Sciences, Environmental Sciences and Human Sciences. It also is home to numerous research centers and institutes.

Student Affairs vice chancellor

This search is for a successor to Fred Wood, who became the chancellor at the University of Minnesota-Crookston last July. Adela de la Torre, professor and director of the Center for Transnational Health, and former chair of the Department of Chicana/o Studies, is filling the position on an interim basis. 

Ken Burtis, former dean of the College of Biological Sciences who now serves as faculty adviser to the chancellor and provost, chairs the search committee that comprises faculty, students and staff.

The vice chancellor of Student Affairs reports directly to the chancellor and works closely with the senior leadership team. Student Affairs provides services that support and enhance students’ academic experience, and promotes an atmosphere of inclusiveness and support for the campus’s diverse and international student body.

Services and programs under the vice chancellor’s purview include enrollment and academic support; student housing and residential education; student health and psychological services; student life, campus community and campus climate; internships and career services; campus unions, bookstores and food service; and Student Affairs development, commercial activities and related capital projects.

Recruitment websites

A website has been created for each recruitment:

• CA&ES dean
• Student Affairs vice chancellor

Each site already includes the rosters of the recruitment advisory committees. Town hall meetings will be posted as they are scheduled, as will the position profiles when they are completed.

Alberto Pimentel of the national executive search firm Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates is assisting recruitment committees in identifying potential candidates for these two critical positions. Advertisements for both positions will be placed in The Chronicle of Higher Education and with other leading organizations. 

Members of the campus community are encouraged to send comments about the qualifications that the university should be looking for in candidates for these positions. Emails should be addressed as follows:

• CA&ES dean caesdeansearch@ucdavis.edu
• Student Affairs vice chancellor vcstudentaffairssearch@ucdavis.edu