[Ucrfacultyandstaff] Dean of the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

[UCR Provost]

Dear Campus Community,



Daryle Williams, Dean of the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social
Sciences (CHASS), is stepping down effective September 1, 2026.



Dean Williams was appointed in September 2021. For the past five years, he
has remained steadfastly committed to educational access and world-class
research at UC Riverside.



Under his leadership, 80 new faculty joined the College, including 20 from
the President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, for which Dean Williams
served as a strong champion. He also successfully retained more than
three-quarters of CHASS Senate faculty with outside opportunities during
his tenure. He initiated a Staff Task Force in 2023 and implemented several
of its recommendations in the past three years, including the relaunch of
STAR Awards, the introduction of multiyear hybrid work agreements, a CHASS
Staff Scholarship pilot, and staff participation in professional
development opportunities. Dean Williams secured $9 million in gifts and
grants for the College: more than $4 million for new endowed chairs, nearly
$1 million for endowed lectures, more than $1.5 million for high-impact
student opportunities in Washington, DC, New York, and Sacramento, a
$400,000 annual gift for the Gluck Fellows Program of the Arts, and more
than $2 million in support from the Mellon Foundation.



Dean Williams has also been a passionate voice for the value of the
humanities, arts, and social sciences as academic pursuits and as vital
components of an informed citizenry and a healthy society. His
contributions at the state level were recognized in his appointment as
chair of the California Humanities Board; his endeavors at the national
level were recognized in his nomination to the National Council on the
Humanities.



Dr. Williams will take a year of sabbatical to bring his research back up
to full speed, and then he will return to teaching and mentoring as a
faculty member in the Department of History. He shared that he is looking
forward to spending more time with his husband. Please join me in wishing
Dr. Williams all the best in this next chapter of his career.



After consultation with the CHASS Faculty Executive Committee, I have
decided to appoint Steven Helfand, Professor of Economics, to serve as
Interim Dean while we conduct a national search for the next Dean of the
College. Dr. Helfand chaired the Department of Economics from 2017 to 2023,
and he chaired the Latin American Studies Program from 2002 to 2006. He
served as Director of the UC Education Abroad Program in Brazil from 2006
to 2009, and he has served on UCR’s Academic Senate Committee on Planning &
Budget for most of the past two years. He shares my deep commitment to
CHASS, and during this interim period, he and I will work closely with
faculty and staff to ensure the continued success of all the College’s
programs.



Sincerely,



Liz



*Elizabeth Watkins, PhD*

*Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor*

*Professor of History*

University of California, Riverside

951.827.1129 | Elizabeth.Watkins at UCR.edu
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