October 13, 2023
To: Campus Community
From: David Marshall, Executive Vice Chancellor
Re: Dean of Professional and Continuing Education
After six years of dedicated service, Professor Robert York plans to step down from the deanship of Professional and Continuing Education (Extension) at the end of Fall Quarter. Bob came into the office at a transitional moment when rapid enrollment growth on campus required a rethinking of Extension’s budgetary and programmatic parameters. He oversaw a reorientation of Extension as UCSB Professional & Continuing Education (PACE), as well as new marketing and outreach efforts. Under his leadership, the expert team at PACE developed new international partnerships and created online curricula and certificate programs.
Among PACE’s accomplishments are new collaborative certificate programs for UC Santa Barbara students, developed in consultation with deans and departments, and a very successful collaboration with Santa Barbara County and Cottage Hospital to create a new Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) program, which has produced over 500 certified EMTs. New professional training programs in Lompoc and Santa Maria also were developed. Having steered PACE through the pandemic, Bob is leaving behind a stable budget, as well as a record of innovation. Chancellor Yang and I are grateful for his many contributions to the program and the campus.
I am pleased to announce a search advisory committee, formed in consultation with the Academic Senate, to seek a new dean, which (consistent with other UC campuses) will now be a senior professional academic staff position. John Majewski, former Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts, and Leesa Beck, Director of Summer Sessions, have graciously agreed to co-chair the committee. The committee members are listed below:
John Majewski, Professor, History, Co-Chair
Leesa Beck, Summer Sessions Director, Co-Chair
Yanoula Athanassakis, Director, Academic Planning and Policy, Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor
Kum-Kum Bhavnani, Associate Vice Chancellor for Global Engagement, Professor, Sociology
Clifford Johnson, Professor and North Hall Chair, Physics
Renee Rottner, Associate Teaching Professor, Technology Management
Peter Rupert, Professor, Economics
Michael Stohl, Professor, Communication
Madeleine Sorapure, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education; Teaching Professor, Writing Program
We look forward to working with the entire team at Professional and Continuing Education to build on its accomplishments and develop programs that will serve our students and the community, and advance our mission as a public university.