Campus News
New and reappointed leaders in Academic Affairs support faculty excellence
Academic Affairs has appointed an associate vice provost to promote public scholarship and support early career faculty mentoring, and reappointed leaders to continue advancing their work in supporting faculty excellence.
The UC Santa Cruz Academic Affairs Division has appointed an associate vice provost to promote public scholarship and support early career faculty mentoring, and reappointed leaders to continue advancing their work in supporting faculty excellence.
- Sikina Jinnah has been appointed Associate Vice Provost for Public Scholarship and Early Career Mentoring, effective July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2028. In this role, Jinnah will co-lead, with VPAA Ravelo, the campus effort to develop merit review and promotion guidelines for recognizing and rewarding public-serving research across all disciplines. This initiative is enabled by a grant Ravelo, Jinnah, and others recently received to catalyze and reward public scholarship and equity-centered graduate mentoring at UCSC. In this new role, Jinnah will also lead the Academic Affairs Division’s efforts around several early-career faculty initiatives, including the Chancellor’s and Hellman Fellowships and UCOP’s Research Excellence Awards. She will also be available to advise early career faculty on their merit review and promotion files. Jinnah is a professor of Environmental Studies, and Associate Director of the Center for Reimagining Leadership. She joined the UCSC faculty in 2016.
- Suzanne Alonzo has been reappointed Associate Vice Provost for Leadership and Assessment, effective July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2028, having served as the Associate Vice Provost for Academic Affairs since January 1, 2024. Alonzo will continue to focus on program learning outcome assessment (in collaboration with the ALEEC team), faculty support, and faculty leadership development. She will also continue to lead the Shared Equity Leadership Fellows (SELF) program and co-organize the LEAD program for department chairs. In her newly defined role, Alonzo looks forward to expanding UCSC’s leadership development and faculty support programs. Alonzo is a professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and joined the UCSC faculty in 2014.
- Robin Dunkin has been reappointed Faculty Director of the Teaching and Learning Center, effective July 1, 2026 to June 2027. Dunkin has served in this role for the past three years and has agreed to serve for one additional year. The TLC supports faculty and graduate students in their role as teachers, promoting equity-minded and evidence-based teaching practices and fostering excellence in student learning. During her tenure, Dunkin has worked with TLC leadership to support the campus through significant changes in higher education including shifts in modality, numerous critical current events with impacts on teaching and learning, and the introduction of generative AI. Dunkin is looking forward to continued work in these areas as well as increasing opportunities for faculty leadership through the TLC, working closely with campus partners to support departments with Generative AI, academic integrity, accessibility, and equity-minded teaching, and to supporting a new cohort of Faculty Fellows focused on the first year experience. Dunkin is a professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and joined the UCSC faculty in 2017.