Division of the Social Sciences Dean Appointment

From: President Paul Alivisatos and Provost Katherine Baicker
Subject: Division of the Social Sciences Dean Appointment
Date: May 11, 2023

We are pleased to announce that Amanda Woodward, the William S. Gray Distinguished Service Professor of Psychology, has been reappointed dean of the Division of the Social Sciences.

Having served as dean since 2017, Amanda’s leadership and vision have advanced the eminence of the division. She brings to the role deep experience as a widely recognized scholar in the social development of infants and young children. Amanda has made significant strides in faculty hiring across the division, recruiting exceptional early-career and senior scholars to campus who strengthen, expand, and transform the University’s leadership in social science fields. In partnership with colleagues across the division, she has supported the development of academic units and programs at the leading edge of social science inquiry. Notably, she was instrumental in establishing the Department of Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity, along with the new PhD program in political economy, a joint enterprise with the Harris School of Public Policy.  

Highly regarded for her thoughtful leadership, creative spirit, and dedication, Amanda has fostered an inclusive culture across the division. Under her direction, the division has expanded its support for doctoral education and improved the career trajectories of graduate students through the sponsorship of dissertation completion fellowships, the First Year Scholars Program, the Peer Mentoring Program, the expansion of the social science Teaching Fellows program, and the Alumni-in-Residence program. Amanda has also strengthened the division’s renowned master’s education offerings through the enrichment of curricula and the development of new programming and student services.
 
In partnership with the College, Amanda has actively supported innovative approaches to providing undergraduate curricular and co-curricular programming to students, including the launch of new academic programs and initiatives that involve undergraduates in faculty research, such as the Summer Institute for Social Research Methods. She has led new alumni engagement initiatives and fostered connections among current students and alumni of the division’s graduate programs. 

Amanda’s reappointment was informed by the recommendations of a faculty advisory committee, and we are grateful to the committee members for their contributions to the process. 

Amanda has had a tremendous impact at the University, and we are confident she will continue to do so in the years ahead. Please join us in congratulating her on this reappointment.