Director of Academic Personnel

June 16, 2008

After seventeen years of exceptional leadership as our Director of Academic Personnel, Pat Sheppard has decided to retire effective June 27, 2008. We all thank Pat for her inspired and steadfast leadership, her judgment, sense of humor, and the broad perspective she has brought to the Academic Personnel office over the years.

This is Pat’s twenty-seventh year as a member of our campus community. Pat first served in the Graduate Division from 1981 through 1991. She was appointed Director of Academic Personnel in 1991 and has served the campus in this role since that time. During Pat’s tenure as Director, our faculty has grown by more than 20 percent, our campus has become a member of the Association of American Universities, and the quality and diversity of our faculty has continued to greatly enhance the campus’s growing reputation. As technology advanced and our faculty grew, Pat worked with Associate Vice Chancellors and an exceptional team of staff in Academic Personnel to implement the first electronic faculty advancement system and archive in the University of California system. She has always brought great wisdom, knowledge and experience to decision-making in the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor. 

A search advisory committee will be constituted in the coming weeks to advise us on the next Director of Academic Personnel. I am pleased to announce that Cindy Ponce has agreed to serve as our Acting Director of Academic Personnel in the interim, effective July 1, 2008. Cindy has served in the Academic Personnel office since 1994 and is currently the Associate Director for Academic Personnel. She has been with the University since 1985, with periods of service in the Department of Medicine at UCLA and the School of Pharmacy at UCSF prior to coming to our campus. Her valuable experience makes her an excellent choice t guide us during this transitional period.