I came to UC San Diego as a graduate student in 1978. I’ve been a faculty member, chair of my department, associate dean, and now I’ve completed my 11th academic year as dean. It’s been a privilege to witness firsthand, during this period of immense growth at UC San Diego, the power of the social sciences to shape lives, inform policy, and strengthen communities. I am excited to continue building on the School of Social Sciences’ short but impactful history. 

As this challenging academic year comes to a close, I am feeling particularly reflective. Times of uncertainty force us to re-examine our academic principles – to think deeply about what research we do and why we do it. Recent federal actions are seriously impacting our entire university community, and I want to acknowledge the immense challenges we are facing. We are impacted because we receive federal funding for some of the work we do, but also because many of us participate in national and international research networks, which rely on this source of funding. Together with campus leadership, we are taking proactive steps to mitigate and address these federal impacts on e School of Social Sciences. I am reminded that as we navigate these unprecedented conditions, the mission of all universities and UC San Diego has never been more important.

This year, we launched the Social Sciences Dean’s Leadership Council (DLC) with the goal of advancing the school's strategic initiatives and opening doors to new opportunities. We recently held our second meeting, to which I invited two of our faculty members in the Department of Political Science, Professor and Chair Lawrence Broz, and Professor Molly Roberts, along with three graduate students, to discuss how digital politics is transforming society at large. I find myself returning to this portion of their dynamic presentation: 30% of the public gets their news from Facebook. The very nature and structure of social media makes it ripe for misinformation. What this teaches us is that we need to build capacity in the School of Social Sciences to understand how our government must work in a newly changed public sphere. 

The Dean’s Leadership Council also heard from Associate Dean and Professor of Education Studies Amanda Datnow, who facilitated a discussion on the crucial role of graduate education at UC San Diego. Graduate education is vital at universities like ours with a large commitment to research and discovery. In the School of Social Sciences, graduate students drive our research, teaching and service forward, and always in the public interest. The university recently launched an innovative campaign, Behind Every Breakthrough, to illustrate the vital impact of research, which of course includes the important work of graduate students. 

In spite of the turbulence and the challenges that lie ahead, we must carry on and find opportunities to make an impact. Our students and faculty do exemplary work, which you can read about in recent news highlights of research and activities that showcase their excellence and the impact on society. 

Congratulations to our most recent Social Sciences graduates: the 3,200+ undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students who earned their degrees in 2025. 

I would also like to extend my congratulations to the extraordinary Social Sciences alumni who have received the 2025 Chancellor’s Medal, Ken Kroner, PhD '88, and the 2025 Illustrious Alumni Awards in New York, Shelley S. O’Connor ’83, and Leo Spiegel ’83. I am looking forward to also celebrating Ellen Chen ’95 in October at the Illustrious Alumni event in Los Angeles and I hope to see you there!

I hope you will view this letter as an invitation to reach out to me and share what’s on your mind, just as I will do with you. Thank you for your support of Social Sciences at UC San Diego.