Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris to Extend her Term as Interim Dean of the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs

Dear Colleagues:

I am pleased to share that UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs Interim Dean Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris has agreed to extend her term for an additional year — through June 30, 2026, or until a permanent dean is identified and onboarded. My office requested this extension in order to allow sufficient time to conduct other executive searches. We plan to conduct the search for UCLA Luskin’s permanent dean in academic year 2025–26.

In her role since Jan. 1, 2023, Interim Dean Loukaitou-Sideris has provided strong leadership and oversight of the school. Among her accomplishments in her interim capacity, she has advanced several new curriculum initiatives and degree programs that have received nearly unanimous faculty approval and are anticipated to launch in the near future, including a new Master’s in Real Estate Development; a proposed Master’s in Global Public Affairs; and a proposed online certificate in Data Analytics for Public Affairs, in partnership with UCLA Extension. Making the important work of UCLA Luskin’s nine research centers more visible to California policymakers, Interim Dean Loukaitou-Sideris initiated the annual Luskin Briefing in Sacramento. She has also welcomed two new department chairs, appointed new research center directors, enhanced and diversified the school’s advisory board, led the development and adoption of the school’s 2024 Strategic Plan and shepherded new philanthropic efforts.

Previously, she served as UCLA Luskin’s associate dean of academic affairs from 2010 until her current appointment. She has held a number of leadership positions on campus, including associate provost for academic planning from 2016 to 2019 and chair of the department of urban planning from 2002 to 2008. Joining the faculty of the department of urban planning in 1989, Interim Dean Loukaitou-Sideris is a preeminent scholar known for her research integrating social and physical issues in urban planning and architecture, emphasizing the need to understand the perspectives of those who live and work in a community when designing its built environment.

I am grateful to Interim Dean Loukaitou-Sideris for her thoughtful and impactful leadership at UCLA Luskin, and for her willingness to extend her term and advance key initiatives for the school.

Sincerely,

Darnell Hunt
Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost