Appointment of Christine A. Littleton as Vice Provost for Diversity and Faculty Development
UCLA Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost
Administrative Officers, Deans, Department Chairs, Directors, Faculty and Vice Chancellors
Dear Colleagues:
I am pleased to announce the appointment of Christine A. Littleton as vice provost for diversity and faculty development, effective October 1, 2010.
A professor of law and women’s studies, Chris has taught at UCLA since 1983. Her primary research field is feminist legal theory, and she has led courses in employment discrimination, critical race theory, disability rights and sexual orientation. She helped develop the UCLA School of Law’s policies and procedures on accommodations for students with disabilities, and has served on faculty advisory committees for the Women’s Law Journal and for UCLA’s Critical Race Studies program and Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation and Law.
Professor Littleton joined UCLA after serving as law clerk to Judge Warren J. Ferguson of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. She began teaching in the women’s studies interdepartmental program in 1985 and served as chair for several terms. Since 2008, she has served as founding chair of the Department of Women’s Studies, where she has taught undergraduate and graduate courses. She also was interim director of the Center for the Study of Women from 2003 to 2006.
Professor Littleton has served on Chancellor’s advisory committees on the gay and lesbian community, on working groups and task forces on disability issues, and on the recent Academic Programs Task Force. She also has been active in the community as a founding member of the Board of the California Women’s Law Center and a volunteer attorney for several nonprofit civil rights organizations. She has conducted or overseen investigations for the university and the City of Los Angeles involving allegations of discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion and disability, has conducted trainings on sex and sexual orientation discrimination and served as special master or consultant for major settlements in cases brought by the U.S. Department of Justice concerning housing and public accommodations discrimination. She earned a bachelor’s degree with highest distinction in secondary education and communications from Pennsylvania State University and a J.D. from Harvard University.
I want to thank the search/advisory committee for assembling an outstanding pool of candidates and for its role in recruiting Chris. The committee was chaired by Judith Smith, dean and vice provost for undergraduate education. Other members were Carole Browner, psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences, anthropology and women’s studies; Alicia Gaspar de Alba, Chicana/o studies; Andrea Ghez, physics and astronomy; Lynn Gordon, ophthalmology, and associate dean for academic diversity, David Geffen School of Medicine; Lane Ryo Hirabayashi, Asian American studies; Darnell Hunt, sociology, and director of the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies; and James Schultz, German.
I also want to thank Rosina Becerra for more than eight years of dedicated service as UCLA’s first faculty diversity officer.
Chancellor Block and I are confident that Chris will continue to advance diversity on campus, building on our current programs and actively involving the campus community in creating new opportunities and initiatives to promote diversity, equity and inclusion at UCLA. Please join me in congratulating her and welcoming her to this important role.
Sincerely,
Scott L. Waugh
Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost