Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Ralph J. Hexter announced the appointment of American studies professor Carolyn de la Peña as vice provost and dean of Undergraduate Education, an office she led on an interim basis for the last 16 months.

de la Peña

De la Peña stepped in Jan. 1, 2013, for Pat Turner, who left UC Davis for UCLA, where she is dean and vice provost of Undergraduate Education. An internal search for a replacement led to de la Peña's appointment, effective April 21.

“Carolyn’s service as interim vice provost has been marked by energetic and collaborative leadership,” Hexter said. “Carolyn has worked with colleges and divisions, partnering with the Academic Senate and colleagues in Student Affairs, to promote student success.

“She rapidly found ways to improve availability of seats in gateway courses and support for international students, and she initiated transformative changes in advising, our honors programs, and summer sessions.

“Her role in the recently concluded Western Association of Schools and Colleges accreditation process in particular was invaluable.”

As her primary responsibility, as vice provost and dean, de la Peña supports Hexter in providing campuswide leadership for the delivery and enhancement of undergraduate education. De la Peña serves as a liaison for academic issues pertinent to undergraduate education across the colleges and with the Academic Senate, as well as off campus with the Office of the President, other universities and relevant accreditation agencies.

“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to work with faculty, staff and students over the past many months as we have enhanced the academic experience for UC Davis undergraduates,” de la Peña said.

“There remain challenges ahead, and I look forward to continuing our work together to improve advising, recognize transformational teaching and mentoring, and ensure the highest possible quality in our undergraduate academic programs.”

Previously, de la Peña chaired UC’s systemwide network of humanities center directors and participated in a UC research program, Studies of Food and the Body, comprising faculty members and graduate students across the social sciences and humanities on five UC campuses who, together, explore the intersection of food and human systems and cultures.

“Carolyn is a proven leader and innovator in education and scholarship and the ideal person to take on this role,” Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi said. “Undergraduate education is one of our core endeavors. As we move forward with the 2020 Initiative, Carolyn’s leadership will be critical in our efforts to provide world-class education and training for our students.”

De la Peña, who has a doctoral degree in American studies from the University of Texas at Austin, has taught at UC Davis since 2001 and served as director of the UC Davis Humanities Institute from 2007 to 2012.

She and Louis Warren, the W. Turrentine Jackson Professor of Western U.S. History, served as inaugural co-editors of Boom: A Journal of California, published by UC Press.

She is the author of two books (The Body Electric: How Strange Machines Built the Modern American, 2003, and Empty Pleasures: The Story of Artificial Sweetener from Saccharin to Splenda, 2010), two co-edited volumes and more than 20 articles, most of which explore the history of how people in the United States relate to technologies and objects.

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