Dear Colleagues:

I am very pleased to announce that Professor Rachel Lee has agreed to serve as the new Director of the UCLA Center for the Study of Women, effective immediately.  Professor Lee comes to the position of Director after having served the Center for many years, including her tenure as Interim Director during AY 2012-2013.

The Center for the Study of Women plays an important role as one of our nation’s leading centers of research on gender, sexuality and women’s issues.  By drawing from the vast intellectual capital that we have at UCLA, CSW has been able to be innovative and inclusive, making possible new forms of collaboration and interdisciplinarity.  In two weeks, CSW celebrates the 25^th anniversary of the Thinking Gender conference, an exemplary international collaboration of scholars and graduate students to research topics of gender, race and sexuality.

I very much look forward to working with Rachel and I ask you all to join me in welcoming her to this new leadership role.

Sincerely,

Alessandro Duranti

Dean of Social Sciences