• James Heitzman has been named interim director of the summer sessions office. He assumed his new duties Oct. 1. Heitzman will manage the summer curriculum in coordination with academic departments, oversee administration of special programs, and guide the transition of the summer sessions office from university outreach and international programs to the office of the vice provost for undergraduate studies. He has two decades of experience in research and teaching, most recently as a visiting associate professor at UC Davis, where he continues to teach Indian history. Heitzman received his bachelor's degree from Syracuse University and a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of Network City, about the rise of the information technology industry in Bangalore, India. He speaks six languages.

• Frank Hirtz was recently named faculty director of short-term programs abroad, a quarter-term program housed in the Education Abroad Center. Hirtz will assist in the administration of existing programs as well as the development and implementation of future study-abroad programs. In addition to his new position, he will continue to teach as an associate professor in human and community development. Before coming to UC Davis in 1991, Hirtz taught at universities including the University of Bielefeld, Germany, his alma mater. He has taught sociology, law, international studies and geography and speaks seven languages. During the 1980s, he worked for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in the Philippines.

• Nicole Ranganath has been appointed as university outreach and international programs' campus opportunities development officer. She received her bachelor's degree in anthropology at UC Berkeley and her doctorate in history at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Her dissertation research took her to Gujarat in Western India, Mohandas Gandhi's home state. Ranganath has taught courses in Indian history, Hinduism and U.S. immigration. She will be identifying and promoting research, sabbatical and study opportunities for faculty and students. She also plans to help expand funding opportunities in international collaborative projects that further strategic interests of UC Davis.

• Eric Schroeder is the new director of the summer abroad programs. Schroeder began his position this month. He will lead in the coordination of all aspects of the international program, which includes more than 30 courses on six continents in the summer of 2005. Schroeder's prior experience with summer sessions abroad includes developing and teaching courses in South Africa, Australia and Scotland. He has 20 years of experience as a lecturer in the English department and teaches in the integrated studies and American studies programs. Schroeder earned his doctorate from UCLA and a master's degree at the University of Sussex, England.