Rosario Ceballo, professor and chair of women’s studies and professor of psychology, has been named interim associate dean for social sciences at the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts at the University of Michigan. Her role as interim associate dean will begin on September 1, 2018.

Ceballo will succeed Elizabeth R. Cole, who has served as associate dean for social sciences since 2014, and who will begin her term as interim dean of LSA on September 1.

"Professor Ceballo is exactly the right person at the right time for this role," said Cole. "She's a positive leader who has great integrity and a warm rapport with students.  Her vision for the ongoing development and promotion of social sciences in higher education will keep LSA at the forefront of innovative research and teaching."

As chair of women’s studies since 2015, Ceballo has led one of the most diverse departments on campus as well as one of the oldest women’s studies programs in the country. It’s also the first program of its kind to offer interdisciplinary doctoral degrees, one of which earned a top-ten ranking by U.S. News & World Report in 2017. As chair, Ceballo both launched and expanded the department’s new gender and health major.

"I am honored by this opportunity and excited about working with the highly esteemed departments in the social sciences,” Ceballo says. “My colleagues are brilliant scholars, dedicated teachers, and generous academic leaders. I look forward to working with them to support ongoing and new commitments in innovative and socially impactful research, in high-quality mentoring of graduate and undergraduate students, and in creative teaching approaches and diversity initiatives throughout our division."

In her role as interim associate dean, Ceballo will oversee more than a dozen units in the social sciences, ranging from cognitive science to anthropology, communications studies, economics, sociology, and more. LSA social scientists have explored the world beyond our immediate experience, generating scholarship about digital technology, organizations, aging, politics, the origin and evolution of culture, and healthcare, all to better understand people and the ways in which we influence the world.

Professor Ceballo’s research focuses on children and adolescents living in poverty and on ways to protect them from its associated risks, such as exposure to community violence. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes for Health, and she has published extensively in clinical, cultural, developmental, and feminist psychology journals. Professor Ceballo’s teaching has been recognized with the John Dewey Award for commitment to the education of undergraduate students. She currently serves on the editorial board for American Psychologist and has chaired the American Psychological Association’s Committee on Socioeconomic Status.

 

Photo by Levi Stroud