Dear Social Sciences Community:
As we welcome the new academic year and new and returning Bruins back to campus, I am reminded of how each of us contributes to creating a memorable experience for our students in the coming weeks. I am also reminded of our collective commitment to our educational mission at a great public institution where discovery drives change and empirics are used to engage the social sciences for the public good.
Looking back, we kicked off the summer season honoring our Lifka Staff Excellence Award winners and the contributions of all the staff members of our division who support our students, our faculty and the many offices and services that allow our division to thrive. Our rankings, our divisional excellence, and our stature are a direct result of our faculty, our students, working together in the vital work of the academy.
In late spring and over the summer, I also announced the appointment of several dedicated faculty who have agreed to lead our departments and research centers for the next several years, including for the departments of American Indian Studies, Chicana/o and Central American Studies, Labor Studies, the Center for the Study of Women|Streisand Center, LGBTQ Studies, and our Master of Social Science (MaSS) program.
Our research remains as impactful and urgent as ever. In the last few months, our faculty and research units have released numerous studies and reports that are helping the public make sense of, among other topics, our current labor market and employment trends, immigration policies and the social and economic impacts of the recent L.A. wildfires.
As I write, I also know that as we begin fall quarter, we share a collective sense of uncertainty. We are navigating truly unpreceded times without a ready and easily available playbook. Institutions of higher education face existential threats. I do not take these realities lightly, they weigh on me every day. Moving forward, we will have to make tough decisions and adjustments to navigate these precarious budgetary challenges and political climate.
Despite these conditions, there is not a group of dedicated individuals who I would rather be working with. I am confident that with our collective expertise, we will get through this challenging period — we have no choice but to get through it and I pledge to work closely with you, to communicate with transparency, and to keep our shared mission at the forefront.
The work of the Division of Social Sciences is transformative, and the impact of our faculty, students, and staff resonates in our local community and worldwide. Our impact makes our efforts critical and continues to drive and inspire my work every day.
Abel Valenzuela Jr.
Dean
UCLA Social Sciences