Carole Blair, a professor of American studies, will direct the UC Davis Washington Center for the next three years. Blair, who has been administering the capital educational program since January on an interim basis, was appointed to the three-year term by Patricia Turner, vice provost for undergraduate studies. The term begins July 1. The appointment fulfills several goals for Blair. "I was interested in the position because the center has a strong record of serving the educational and career interests of undergraduate students primarily and also offers wonderful opportunities for graduate students and faculty who have research and/or teaching interests in Washington," she said. Blair will be working closely with Larry Berman, a UC Davis political science professor who took the job as founding director of the systemwide UC Center in Washington, D.C., last summer. "The big plans are for the move into the new UCDC building in 2001-2002 and increased cooperation and collaboration among all the UC campus programs in Washington," Blair said. Berman is serving a five-year term as systemwide academic administrator of the eight-campus capital program. The new $40 million UC center will include student apartments, state-of-the-art classrooms and auditoriums, offices for visiting faculty and space for the UC Office of Federal Relations. The research opportunities in Washing-ton are unparalleled for faculty members and graduate students, Blair said. For instance, her research on U.S. commemorative monuments is well served because she is near archives and sites that figure prominently in her work. "And teaching responsibilities are ex-tremely rewarding; we work individually with students on research projects related to their internships and teach courses that rely on what the Washington, D.C., area offers -- from art history and music to health science policy to political, economic and social policy seminars." She also pointed out that UC Davis will be hosting a winter-quarter program next year for the first time, allowing the Washington program to operate year-round. An 11-year member of the UC Davis faculty, Blair received a faculty fellowship for a quarter in 1995-96 to teach and do research at the Washington Center. She also served for two years as chair of the American Studies Program in 1997-99. Blair is replacing Bruce Jentleson, a political science professor who left UC Davis on Jan. 1 to begin a new job with Duke Univer-sity in Durham, N.C., as director of the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy. Jentleson directed the UC Davis center since its inception in fall of 1990.