Melvin L. Oliver was named president of Pitzer College. He will take office July 1.
John Malveaux of
writes:
New undergraduate college president
The Los Angeles Times
January 13, 2016
He grew up in a hardscrabble home with only one book — the Bible — and
parents who worked blue-collar jobs and never advanced beyond ninth
grade.
But Melvin L. Oliver rose to become an award-winning
University of California professor, researcher, author and administrator
noted for championing campus racial diversity. Now he will become the
sixth president of Pitzer College — and the first African American to
lead one of the five undergraduate Claremont Colleges, officials
announced Wednesday.
Oliver, 65, will assume office July 1 at a time of national campus
unrest over racial, ethnic and gender equity, including protests that
forced out the dean of students at nearby Claremont McKenna College last
year. Pitzer student activists have also asked for steps to increase
campus diversity.
Oliver, who has tackled racial and economic
inequality with both research and practical initiatives during three
decades at UCLA and UC Santa Barbara, along with a stint at the Ford Foundation, said he would seek to address those concerns as one of his top priorities.
“I want to deepen the commitment of Pitzer to
recruiting, supporting and graduating those students [of color] because I
think it's an exceptional education and I want it to be available to as
many of them as possible,” he said in an interview.
He
added that he was mindful of the historic nature of his appointment as
the first black president at the elite group of liberal arts colleges.
“It's
very important for students to be able to see someone like them become
the president of one of the five Cs,” he said, referring to the
Claremont campuses.
Donald Gould, a Pitzer trustee who headed the
presidential search committee, said Oliver was selected from a field of
more than 300 candidates during the 13-month search. His expertise in
teaching, research, fundraising and administration, along with his deep
commitment to social justice, made him a particularly attractive choice.
“He's excelled in every one of those areas,” Gould said. “The board felt very strongly that Melvin Oliver is an excellent fit.”
Oliver
is currently executive dean of the UC Santa Barbara College of Letters
and Science, as well as dean of social sciences and a sociology
professor. At UCSB he has helped boost minority graduate student
enrollment in the social sciences division by 40% since 2004. He also
helped launch a program to recruit and prepare minority and low-income
students for doctoral programs in all fields.
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