Appointment of Lois M. Takahashi as Interim Dean, UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs

UCLA Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost

To: Administrative Officers, Deans, Department Chairs, Directors, Vice Chancellors, Vice Provosts, and Faculty and Staff in the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs

Dear Colleagues:

I am pleased to announce that Professor Lois M. Takahashi has agreed to serve as interim dean of the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, effective immediately. 

A member of the UCLA faculty since 2001, Lois is professor of urban planning and of Asian American studies. In addition to her current service as associate dean of research at UCLA Luskin and as associate director of the University of California Asian American and Pacific Islander Policy Multicampus Research Program, Lois has also served as chair of the Department of Urban Planning (2011-13) and chair of the UCLA Asian American Studies Center’s Faculty Advisory Committee (2010-13).

Outside UCLA, Lois is the vice president/president-elect of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, a board member of the Western Center on Law & Poverty and a member of the editorial boards of three journals: Journal of Planning Education and Research, Journal of the American Planning Association, and AIDS Education and Prevention. A National Institutes of Health-funded scholar, Lois’ research focuses on public and social service delivery to vulnerable populations in the U.S. and Southeast Asian cities, HIV/AIDS, homelessness and environmental governance. She has published more than 60 articles and chapters, and she is the author of Homelessness, AIDS, and Stigmatization: The NIMBY Syndrome in the United States at the End of the Twentieth Century and a co-author of Rethinking Environmental Management in the Pacific Rim: Exploring Local Participation in Bangkok, Thailand.

Lois received a Ph.D. in urban planning from the University of Southern California, an M.S. in public management and policy/architecture from Carnegie Mellon University and an A.B. in architecture from UC Berkeley. 

Chancellor Block and I very much appreciate Lois’ willingness to be of service to UCLA Luskin and to UCLA by assuming this leadership position. Please join us in welcoming her to this new role.

Soon, I will form a search committee to identify candidates for a permanent dean, and I will keep you informed as we initiate the search.

Sincerely,

Scott L. Waugh
Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost