Alexandra Minna Stern
Dean of Humanities
Humanities
Alexandra Minna Stern was appointed dean of humanities in November 2022. Previously, she served as associate dean for the humanities in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts at the University of Michigan, where she was also the Carroll Smith-Rosenberg Collegiate Professor of American Culture and held appointments in history, women’s and gender studies, and obstetrics and gynecology.
Stern is the founder and co-director of the Sterilization and Social Justice Lab, an interdisciplinary research team that explores the histories of eugenic sterilization in the United States and is guided by commitments to reproductive, racial and disability justice. Her research has focused on modern and contemporary histories of science, medicine and society in the U.S. and Latin America, and most recently on cultures and ideologies of the far right and white nationalism.
Stern received her B.A. in Central American studies from San Francisco State University, her M.A. in Latin American studies from UC San Diego and her Ph.D. in history from the University of Chicago.
Tracy Johnson
Dean of Life Sciences
Life Sciences
Tracy Johnson was appointed dean of life sciences in September 2020. She is holder of the Keith and Cecilia Terasaki Presidential Endowed Chair, and a professor of molecular, cell, and developmental biology.
Johnson, who joined the UCLA faculty in 2013, is recognized for her scientific leadership, contributions to educational innovation, and as a champion of diversity, equity and inclusion. She is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor and has served as associate dean for inclusive excellence in the division of life sciences since January 2015.
Prior to joining UCLA, she was a member of the UC San Diego biological sciences faculty and a Jane Coffin Childs postdoctoral research fellow at the California Institute of Technology. She earned her bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and cell biology at UC San Diego and her doctorate in biochemistry and molecular biology at UC Berkeley.
Miguel García-Garibay
Senior Dean of the College
Dean of Physical Sciences
Physical Sciences
Miguel García-Garibay was appointed dean of physical sciences in May 2016, after four years as chair of the department of chemistry and biochemistry, and became Senior Dean of the UCLA College in November 2022. He has been a faculty member in the department since 1992.
García-Garibay came to UCLA after doing postdoctoral research at Columbia University, which followed his Ph.D. studies at the University of British Columbia in Canada. He was promoted to full professor in 2000 and he has served as Vice Chair for Education in the department of chemistry and biochemistry since 2005. García-Garibay is a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of the American Chemical Society and the Journal of Organic Chemistry.
His current research efforts are aimed at the development of artificial molecular machinery in highly organized crystalline media, and the development of green chemistry by taking advantage of organic reactions in molecular nanocrystals.
García-Garibay received his B.S. degree in 1985 at the University of Michoacán in Mexico and his Ph.D. in 1988 from the University of British Columbia.
Abel Valenzuela
Interim Dean of Social Sciences
Social Sciences
Abel Valenzuela Jr. was appointed interim dean of social sciences effective September 2022. A member of the UCLA faculty since 1994, Valenzuela is a professor of labor studies, urban planning and Chicana/o and Central American studies and the most recent past director of UCLA’s Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, working with colleagues to build labor studies and enhance research and engagement through the newly named James Lawson Worker Justice Center.
Valenzuela is a leading national expert on day labor (itinerant workers) and precarious labor markets, and he continues to publish and frame public and policy conversations on immigrant and low-wage workers. His research interests include precarious labor markets, worker centers, immigrant workers, environmental equity, just transitions, neighborhood change and Los Angeles.
At UCLA, he has held several administrative leadership positions, including chairing Chicana/o and Central American studies for two terms, directing the Center for the Study of Urban Poverty for more than a decade and serving as special advisor to the chancellor on immigration policy for four years. During UCLA’s Centennial Celebration, Valenzuela led the exhibit “UCLA: Our Stories, Our Impact,” an effort to recognize and uplift alumni of color who have dedicated their work to social justice and change.
Valenzuela earned his B.A. from UC Berkeley (social science field major) and his M.C.P. and Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Adriana Galván
Dean of Undergraduate Education
Undergraduate Education
Neuroscientist Adriana Galván was appointed dean of undergraduate education effective July 2020. A member of the UCLA faculty since 2008, Galván is a professor of psychology, is co-executive director of the Center for the Developing Adolescent and is director of the Developmental Neuroscience Lab at UCLA.
Her research focuses on adolescent brain development and behavior, particularly in the domains of learning, motivation, and decision-making. She is a board member and on the leadership team of the Center for the Developing Adolescent and a standing member of the NIH Child Psychopathology and Developmental Disabilities Study Section. Galván has been actively involved in the UCLA Academic Senate, having served on the executive committee, the Committee on Undergraduate Admissions and Relations with Schools, and the Undergraduate Council.
Galván is a faculty affiliate of the UCLA Brain Research Institute and the UCLA Neuroscience Interdepartmental Program, an executive committee member of the UCLA Staglin Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, and co-director of the NICHD T32 Predoctoral Training Program in Adolescent Brain and Behavioral Development.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience and behavior from Barnard College, Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from Cornell University.
