Pauline Yu, dean of the humanities division of the College of
Letters & Science, will be stepping down this summer to fill
her new position as president of the American Council of Learned
Societies, the council announced Tuesday.
A member of the ACLS board of directors since 1998, Yu said she
will be leaving UCLA with a heavy heart but likes the idea of
working for the organization.
“I (accepted the job) with mixed feelings because I love
UCLA and I love what I do here,” Yu said. “But ACLS is
a major institution in this country that supports all humanistic
studies.”
In addition to her position as dean of the humanities division,
Yu is currently an East Asian languages and cultures professor.
Professors and administrators say she will be sorely
missed.Â
“She’s the best dean I’ve ever
experienced,” said Thomas Wortham, chair of the English
department. “Everyone has profound professional respect for
her.”
Wortham emphasized the contributions Yu has made to the
humanities division, especially by supporting interdisciplinary
research.
“She will be missed on campus, but we look forward to
working with her at the helm of one of the world’s premier
scholarly organizations,” said Chancellor Albert
Carnesale.
Other faculty members recognize the importance of Yu’s
appointment.
“It’s a great honor,” said Teofilo Ruiz,
chairman of the history department. “I think it’s
testimony to the quality of our administrators.”
Yu and other humanities faculty point out that her successor
will have plenty to deal with as the university must confront the
problems the state budget crisis will pose.
“The position of the dean is very important at a time like
this,” said classics chairman Robert Gurval.
In addition to the budget crisis, the university is also facing
the loss of College Provost Brian Copenhaver and Life Sciences Dean
Fred Eiserling.
“These things happen, but not usually all at the same
time,” said Daniel Neuman, executive vice chancellor.
“This is a wonderful university, and I’m very
optimistic that we will find new leadership,” Neuman
added.
Yu said her successor will have a strong faculty to work with,
but must show the rest of the College the importance of humanities
in light of the budgetary problems.
“This is a constant conversation that needs to take
place,” she said.
Yu earned her bachelor’s degree in modern European history
and literature from Harvard University in 1971 and attended
Stanford University as a graduate student. She began her career as
an assistant professor and later an associate professor at the
University of Minnesota. She next held a position as professor of
East Asian languages and cultures at Columbia University.
Before coming to UCLA in 1994, Yu worked at the University of
California, Irvine where she founded the Department of East Asian
Languages and Literatures.
Among her many awards and elected positions, Yu was elected as a
Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and received a
fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The ACLS, which serves as an umbrella organization for many
large professional humanities and social science societies in the
United States and worldwide, is known as a major supporter of
research through fellowships and grants. The organization also
supports programs for both international studies within the United
States and international scholars.