April 22, 2025
To: Campus Community
From: David Marshall, Executive Vice Chancellor
Michael B. Miller, Associate Vice Chancellor of Undergraduate Education
Re: Summer Sessions Director
We are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. James Ford as Director of Summer Sessions effective May 12, 2025. Dr. Ford previously served as Director of Summer Sessions at UC Santa Barbara from 2016 to 2019 before taking the position of Assistant Vice Provost and Chief of Staff of Academic Planning at UC Berkeley. In that capacity, he collaborated closely with campus executive leadership on strategic planning for new and established revenue-generating academic programs, international relations and partner development, academic space planning, and reviews for all academic programs. He also formed and co-chaired Berkeley’s “future of work” committee, and led campus negotiations for improved revenue sharing with external Online Program Management companies. We are excited to bring James back to UCSB with his wealth of experience and knowledge of academic planning.
Over the past several years, Summer Sessions has expanded and increased its importance to the campus, providing important bridge programs that support student success, helping the campus to achieve its enrollment and student FTE goals, and also generating revenue for departments and the campus. We look forward to the development of new summer minor programs, and collaborations with the Education Abroad Program (EAP) and Professional and Continuing Education (PACE) on joint initiatives. James also will work closely with the Academic Senate on policies for online course offerings and contribute to our enrollment and curricular planning projects.
We are grateful to Professor Norah Dunbar for chairing the search committee, and for her exceptional stewardship of Summer Sessions as Interim Director since June 1, 2024, following Leesa Beck’s five years of excellent service. We thank the search committee for the time and diligence they put into this important national search. The membership of the committee is listed below.
Please join us in welcoming back James Ford to UC Santa Barbara.
Summer Sessions Director Advisory Search Committee
Norah Dunbar, committee chair, Department of Communication
Nicole Albada, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences
Daina Ramey Berry, Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts
Lisa Berry, Office of Teaching and Learning
Christian Villaseñor, Assistant Executive Vice Chancellor
Michelle Stransky, Assistant Dean, Undergraduate Education