Fred Genesee, who specializes in language development and second-language education, has been appointed as the new director of the UC Davis Division of Education. He will be on campus starting in January. A native of Canada, Genesee has been a professor in the McGill University psychology department since 1978. His research over the years has focused on second-language learning and teaching in pre-school to adult learners. The evaluation of alternative forms of second-language education for elementary- and secondary-level students has been a major aspect of Genesee's work. "For me, the teaching of second languages is not an end in itself, but rather a pivotal aspect of general education, and learning second languages is not simply the addition of a second set of linguistic skills, but part of one's psycho-social development," says Genesee, interviewed by phone in his McGill office earlier this week The strong focus in the division on K-12 education, and the division's interest in issues related to diversity within K-12 education, including linguistic diversity, attracted Genesee to UC Davis, he says. Also appealing, he says, is that faculty in the division have strong connections with K-12 public schools in the region, and have been working to bring about change in regional schools. "For me, this means they have a better chance of effecting real change in the schools." Genesee says he believes the university's close proximity to Sacramento means "there's the possibility of working to link scholars at Davis with policymakers in the government" to further effect change in public schools. Finally, the campus's tradition of community outreach also made UC Davis attractive, Genesee says. Carol Tomlinson-Keasey, vice provost for academic programs and personnel, says the campus is delighted to have been able to hire Genesee. "He is an outstanding scholar whose interests and research mesh well with our Division of Education. We are so pleased to have attracted him here from McGill." Genesee received his Ph.D. in psychology at McGill in 1974 and earned his B.A. degree in psychology at the University of Western Ontario. In 1990, he won the Paul Pimsler Award for Research in Foreign Language Education. He is the author of Learning Through Two Languages, editor of Educating Second-Language Children, and co-author of the forthcoming Classroom-based Evaluation in Second-Language Education.