ORG CHART: Ahmet Palazoglu to Begin Term as Senate Chair

Academic Federation Retains Leaders for 2nd Year

Quick Summary

  • Senate: Kadee Russ, vice chair; Heather Rose, secretary
  • Federation: Martin Smith, chair; Eric DiCaprio, vice chair
  • Letters and Science: Annaliese Franz, Interim associate dean
  • Law: Raquel Aldana begins 3rd term as ABA council chair
 
4 headshots: Ahmet Palazoglu, Katheryn "Kadee" Russ, Heather Rose and Richard Tucker, UC Davis faculty
Academic Senate officers, 2022-23, from left: Ahmet Palazoglu, Katheryn “Kadee” Russ, Heather Rose and Richard Tucker.

Here are the leaders of the Academic Senate and Academic Federation for 2022-23:

ACADEMIC SENATEDistinguished Professor Ahmet Palazoglu, a member of the chemical engineering faculty for nearly 40 years, will take office Thursday (Sept. 1) as chair of the Davis Division of the Academic Senate.

He has served on several division committees, including executive, academic personnel, courses of instruction, planning and budget, educational policy, and Graduate Council academic planning development.

At the universitywide level, he has served as a member of the Academic Council and chair of the Committee on Academic Personnel.

As divisional chair, he succeeds Richard Tucker, professor, Department of Cell Biology and Human Anatomy, School of Medicine, who will serve as parliamentarian in 2022-23.

Other Academic Senate officers for the new academic year:

  • Vice chair — Katheryn “Kadee” Russ, chair and professor, Department of Economics, College of Letters and Science
  • Secretary — Heather Rose, associate professor, School of Education

Davis Division committee members for 2022-23 are listed in the Representative Assembly’s June 2 agenda.

Martin Smith and Erin DiCaprio headshots, UC Davis faculty
Academic Federation officers, 2022-23: Martin Smith and Erin DiCaprio. ​

ACADEMIC FEDERATION The chair and vice chair will continue in their positions for a second year. They are:

  • Chair — Martin Smith, professor of Cooperative Extension in the areas of youth scientific literacy, curriculum development and educator professional development, in two departments: Human Ecology, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; and Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine
  • Vice chair —  Erin DiCaprio, associate professor of Cooperative Extension in the area of community food safety, Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

Annaliese Franz headshot, UC Davis faculty
Annaliese Franz

Annaliese Franz, a professor of chemistry, is applying her passion for education equity to a new role: interim associate dean for academic programs and planning in the College of Letters and Science.

Franz fills a vacancy created in July when Carlos Jackson, associate dean since 2021 and a professor of Chicana/o studies, was appointed dean of the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design at the University of Michigan.

The associate dean is charged with leading efforts to enhance the caliber of academic programs across the College of Letters and Science, including experiential learning, undergraduate mentorship and student success pathways.

Since joining the UC Davis faculty in 2007, Franz has spearheaded a number of student mentorship programs — within her department, across the college and campuswide. She served from 2017 to 2021 as faculty director of the Undergraduate Research Center, where she directed several initiatives to help students from all backgrounds excel. Previously, she spent two years as vice chair for undergraduate affairs in the Department of Chemistry.

“With Professor Franz’s substantial accomplishments in teaching, research and mentorship, we look forward to the work we will accomplish together in supporting our departments, programs, faculty and students in the college,” Dean Estella Atekwana said in announcing her recommendation to campus leaders that Franz assume the interim role.

— Kathleen Holder, content specialist, College of Letters and Science


Raquel Aldana headshot
Raquel Aldana

Law professor Raquel Aldana has been reappointed to a third one-year term as chair of the American Bar Association’s Latin America and Caribbean Law Initiative Council.

She joined UC Davis in 2017 as the inaugural associate vice chancellor for academic diversity. She also held an appointment to the law school faculty, and she took up this position full time upon stepping down as associate vice chancellor in 2020.

Aldana’s research has focused on transitional justice, criminal justice reforms and sustainable development in Latin America, as well as immigrant rights.


Dateline UC Davis welcomes news of appointments of various kinds for faculty and staff, for publication in Org Chart (formerly titled Transitions). Send information to dateline@ucdavis.edu.

Media Resources

Dateline Staff: Dave Jones, editor, 530-752-6556, dateline@ucdavis.edu; Cody Kitaura, News and Media Relations specialist, 530-752-1932, kitaura@ucdavis.edu.

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