Colleges Nine and Ten Provost Helen Shapiro to head UC Washington Center

Helen Shapiro, who now serves as the provost of Colleges Nine and Ten at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has become the executive director of the Washington Center at the University of California, also known as UCDC.

The first five-year term of Shapiro, a professor of sociology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, begins on September 1. After Bruce Cain, the longtime executive director, retired in June 2012, she takes over as the new executive director. Melanie DuPuis, a professor at UC Santa Cruz, has been serving as the temporary executive director for the past year.

Not only will Shapiro be in charge of the management and operation of the UCDC center, which is an 11-story residential complex, but he will also be in charge of the academic program at the center. Shapiro was picked after a search that was conducted across the entire system. She will work together with the nine undergraduate campuses of the University of California on academic programming and faculty recruiting, she will coordinate fundraising efforts for the center, and she will engage with local organizations and the community in order to maintain and expand UCDC programs.

When the announcement was made, Susan Carlson, the vice provost for academic affairs at the University of California, stated that the job is one of a kind within the UC system.

UCDC, which was established in 2001 and is situated close to Dupont Circle in Washington, has the capacity to accommodate over 270 students. It offers students and faculty members the chance to study, do research, receive employment, and live within the context of the cultural, political, and international legacy of the nation’s capital. In most cases, undergraduate students devote their time throughout the academic quarter to attending classes and working in internships. While they are conducting research in Washington, the facility can serve as a base of operations for UC faculty.

According to Shapiro, who was a visiting lecturer at the University of Central Columbia for two terms during the 2004-2005 academic year, “UCDC provides students with life-changing experiences in Washington, DC.” “I am very much looking forward to working with the UCDC staff and faculty, as well as with each campus, to ensure that the program thrives and is accessible to all qualified students.”

She stated that she had a great time serving as the provost at Colleges Nine and Ten, where she had been in that role since 2006. She also stated that the experience made her a serious candidate for the position at the UCDC. She also held the position of associate dean for the Division of Social Sciences during her tenure. Undergraduate students at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) taught Latin American and Latino studies, economics, and sociology from 1997 to 2006. During the years 1988 to 1996, she was also a professor at the Harvard Business School.

Shapiro attends Yale University, where he earned his doctorate in economics. Her research interests are mostly focused on economic policy and international relations, and she has a significant body of work published in the field of economic development in Latin American countries for example.

Shapiro’s position as provost will be filled by a new individual, according to Sheldon Kamieniecki, the dean of Social Sciences, who stated that a search would be initiated. The temporary provost position will be filled by Matthew J. Wolf-Meyer, an anthropology professor, beginning on August 1 and continuing through the autumn quarter, according to him. The appointment of Campbell Leaper, a professor of psychology and the founding provost of Nine and Ten, to the position of provost will take place throughout the winter and spring quarters.

Shapiro was commended by Kamieniecki for her contribution to the Social Sciences division, and Kamieniecki praised her efforts to circumvent the several budget reductions that the university has endured. “She has done a wonderful job modifying the curricula at Colleges Nine and Ten, organizing extremely interesting and sometimes provocative conferences, meetings, and forums on critical social, political, cultural, and economic topics, fundraising for both Colleges, and providing visionary leadership,” according to the president.