Appointment of Celine Parreñas Shimizu as Dean of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television

March 6, 2025

Dear Colleagues:

I am delighted to announce the appointment of Celine Parreñas Shimizu as the next dean of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, effective July 1, 2025.

A celebrated filmmaker and scholar — and UCLA TFT alumna — Dean Shimizu is currently dean of the Division of Arts and distinguished professor in the Department of Film and Digital Media at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Prior to her appointment as dean, she served as professor and director of the School of Cinema at San Francisco State University (2015–21) and professor of Asian American studies, feminist studies and film studies at UC Santa Barbara (2001–15).

As dean of the Arts Division at UC Santa Cruz, where she is fondly known as “Dean Celine,” Shimizu has served as a transformative leader who has empowered the collective capabilities of faculty, staff and students to create a culture of inclusive excellence. She presided over the launch of the first online undergraduate B.A. in the UC system and the construction of several state-of-the-art facilities including a media lab, the first climate-controlled collecting gallery at UC Santa Cruz, new graduate student art studios, an Arts and AI Lab and a new academic building. Her visionary leadership resulted in securing two endowed chairs and establishing several scholarship funds. She dramatically increased fundraising; forged vital connections between industry and academy; and implemented comprehensive mentorship and professional development programs for faculty, staff and students with the support of major grants. A unifier of community, she inspired the Arts Division to advance faculty and staff diversity, democratize the curriculum, and establish meaningful relationships with communities locally and globally. Her innovative approach to leadership included implementing new communications systems that amplified the arts to unprecedented audiences.

As a scholar, Dean Shimizu is internationally recognized for her work on race, sexuality and representations. Her groundbreaking books include The Movies of Racial Childhoods (Duke, 2024), The Proximity of Other Skins (Oxford, 2020), Straitjacket Sexualities (Stanford, 2012) and The Hypersexuality of Race (Duke, 2007), which won Best Book in Cultural Studies from the Association for Asian American Studies. Her peer-reviewed articles appear in top journals in cinema, performance, ethnic, feminist and sexuality studies. As a filmmaker, she creates powerful documentary and narrative films, with recent works including The Celine Archive (2020) and 80 Years Later: On Japanese American Racial Inheritance (2022), both garnering multiple festival awards.

Dean Shimizu’s exceptional leadership and mentorship have been widely recognized. She received the Mentorship Award from the Association for Asian American Studies (2022) and was inducted into the Stanford University Multicultural Alumni Hall of Fame (2023). Elected to serve on the board of the International Council for Arts Deans, she also sat on the boards of SFFilm and Crowded Fire Theater. At the UC systemwide level, she serves on the Advancing Faculty Diversity Council and the inaugural AAPI Leadership Council. At UC Santa Cruz, she served as a co-chair of the 2023 campus strategic plan’s Inclusive and Thriving Campus Community Committee as well as the dean representing all academic divisions, and represented the UC system at the state legislature advocating for the importance of the arts in science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM). A sought-after speaker who is cited in major media outlets, her recent talks include presentations at Pixar, Lionsgate, Amazon Studios, Smithsonian, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, University of Cambridge and the Berlin Institute for Cultural Inquiry. She earned her Ph.D. in modern thought and literature from Stanford University, her M.F.A. in film directing and production from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television and her B.A. in ethnic studies from UC Berkeley.

I want to thank the search/advisory committee members for assembling an outstanding pool of candidates for this position and for their roles in recruiting Dean Shimizu:

David C. Schaberg (chair) – professor of Asian languages & cultures and former dean of the Division of Humanities
Jeffrey A. Burke – professor of theater; associate dean for research and technology, School of Theater, Film and Television
Kristy Guevara-Flanagan – professor and head of documentary, Department of Film, Television and Digital Media
Suk-Young Kim – professor of theater; associate dean for academic affairs and external engagement, School of Theater, Film and Television
William McDonald – professor and head of cinematography, Department of Film, Television and Digital Media
Lionel Popkin – interim dean, School of the Arts and Architecture; professor, Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance
Marike Splint – associate professor, vice chair for undergraduate studies and head of directing, Department of Theater
Dominic A. Taylor – professor of theater and African American studies
Jasmine Nadua Trice – associate professor, Department of Film, Television and Digital Media

I also wish to recognize and express my gratitude to Brian Kite for his dedicated service as interim dean and dean from 2020 to 2024, and to Chon Noriega both for serving as interim dean since January and for serving on the search committee until that transition.

Dean Shimizu’s significant academic, professional and administrative experience and achievements, coupled with her TFT roots, position her well to lead the school at this pivotal moment. Chancellor Frenk and I are confident that TFT will reach new heights under Dean Shimizu’s inclusive, creative and visionary leadership. Please join us in congratulating her and warmly welcoming her back to UCLA and into this new role.

Sincerely,

Darnell Hunt
Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost