July 5, 1995 Contact: Barbara McKenna (408/459-2495)

LINGUISTICS PROFESSOR NAMED DEAN OF HUMANITIES AT UC SANTA CRUZ

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SANTA CRUZ--Professor of linguistics Jorge Hankamer has been appointed dean of the Humanities Division at the University of California, Santa Cruz. The appointment took effect July 1.

Humanities is one of four academic divisions at UCSC; the others are Arts, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences. Each division is home to a wide range of departments and programs. Hankamer succeeds Gary Lease, a professor of history of consciousness, who had served as dean since 1990.

In announcing the appointment, Executive Vice Chancellor Michael Tanner said, "I am pleased to announce that Professor Hankamer has accepted this position, and I am confident that he will bring continued leadership and strength to the Humanities Division."

"The humanities face some heavy challenges these days," Hankamer said. "We're at a time when resources overall are diminishing and student interest is in one of the periodic swings away from humanities to other disciplines. We have the potential to take a leading role in revitalizing support for and interest in humanistic knowledge at Santa Cruz. This division is already the home of a number of exceptional programs."

Hankamer joined the UCSC faculty in 1980 as a member of the linguistics program--a program with a national reputation for excellence that he was instrumental in creating. During his tenure he has served in numerous administrative posts including chair of the Board of Studies in Linguistics from 1980 to 1990, acting dean of Graduate Studies from 1993 to 1994, acting dean of Social Sciences during the fall of 1994, acting chair of the Literature Board from 1993 through last month, and Associate Academic Vice Chancellor of Planning and Programs from 1990 through last month.

Hankamer holds a B.A. in physics and mathematics and an M.A. in German literature from Rice University, and a Ph.D. in linguistics from Yale University. His research focuses on syntax, semantics, morphology, computational linguistics, psycholinguistics, and Turkish. He has written numerous articles for professional journals and has served for the past twenty years as an editor for the series "Outstanding Dissertations in Linguistics" (Garland Publishing, New York). In 1991 he was director of the Linguistic Society of America's Linguistic Institute, a six-week summer program with an international membership.

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