Steering Committee

The steering committee will provide advice, guidance and support to ensure the success of UCSC’s strategic planning process. The enthusiasm of the committee will inspire the campus community to explore opportunities for the next decade centered around the five pillars of the plan. The committee will set the stage for the successful development of the strategic plan by providing input into the themes, committee charges, and membership of the committees. The steering committee will finalize mission and vision statements incorporating campus input to produce documents that will guide the university along our future path. 

Over the course of the academic year, the committee will help to steer the strategic planning process and the development of the final plan. The steering committee will meet periodically as a group and with the chairs of individual committees to help guide their work, including providing advice on the individual committee’s direction, goals and metrics. The steering committee will help to ensure our community at large is consulted via surveys, open forums and town hall meetings in a manner that is welcoming, inclusive and respectful. With the assistance of a professional writer, the committee will help to synthesize the steering committee reports, including goals and metrics, to develop a draft plan and incorporate campus feedback to create the final plan.

Read more about the Steering Committee in the committee charge.

Steering Committee Membership

Cindy Larive, Chancellor, co-chair
Lori Kletzer, Campus Provost and Executive Vice-Chancellor, co-chair
Jasmine Alinder, Dean of Humanities, Convener of Divisional Deans, Professor of History
Akirah Bradley-Armstrong, Vice Chancellor Student Affairs and Success
Peter Biehl, Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies
Mark Delos Reyes Davis, Vice Chancellor University Relations
Jennifer Derr, Associate Professor of History, Founding Director, Center for the Middle East and North Africa
Elida Erickson, Sustainability Director
Anna Finn, Associate Chancellor and Chief of Staff
Patty Gallagher, Professor Performance, Play and Design, Academic Senate Chair
Jimmy Gomez, SUA Vice President for Internal Affairs
Matthew Guthaus, Associate Dean of Graduate Studies, Baskin School of Engineering
Scott Hernandez-Jason, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Communications & Marketing
Sikina Jinnah, Professor of Environmental Studies
Sean Keilen, Professor of Literature, Provost of Porter College and Chair of the Council of College Provosts
Sri Kurniawan, Professor of Computational Media
Paul Koch, Dean, Physical & Biological Sciences
John MacMillan, interim Vice Chancellor Research, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Tomas Ocampo, GSA President
Celine Parreñas Shimizu, Dean of Arts
Anju Reejhsinghani, Vice Chancellor, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Katie Ritchey, Psychology Graduate Advisor, Staff Advisory Board Chair
Beth Shapiro, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Genomics Institute Associate Director for Conservation Genomics
Jennifer Maytorena Taylor, Associate Professor of Film and Digital Media, Director of the Social Documentation MFA Program

Staff Support

Christina Armstrong, Special Advisor and Director of Strategic Initiatives
Jennifer Baszile, Associate Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Educational Partnerships
Matthew Mednick, Senate Executive Director