Professor Tessa Hill has been named associate dean of research and graduate education in the College of Letters and Science at UC Davis. In the position, Hill will facilitate and support cross-departmental and cross-college research initiatives, oversee contracts and grants, and develop mentorship programs to cultivate research expertise and collaboration among faculty. In addition, she’ll oversee graduate students and studies in the college.
"Professor Hill’s extensive experience as a researcher and faculty member working with graduate students make her a wonderful fit for this position and an incredible asset to the college’s leadership team,” said Estella Atekwana, dean of the College of Letters and Science at UC Davis. “I look forward to her work in the position and want to extend my deepest thanks to our outgoing associate dean, Lori Lubin, for her tireless dedication to the position over the past five years."
A professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Hill most recently served as the associate vice provost for academic programs for UC Davis Public Scholarship and Engagement. She also previously served as associate director of academic programs for the UC Davis Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute. Before joining the UC Davis faculty in 2006, Hill was a UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellow.
Hill is a world-renowned oceanographer and climate scientist who currently manages the Ocean Climate Lab. Her research addresses the sea-change occurring in our oceans, mainly the alarming and rapid shifts occurring in marine ecosystems due to human-induced climate change.
Among her many honors and accolades, Hill is a fellow of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the California Academy of Sciences. In 2024, she was selected as the recipient of the American Geophysical Union’s Rachel Carson Lecture.
A prolific science communicator, Hill is also the co-author of the popular science book At Every Depth: Our Growing Knowledge of the Changing Oceans. She is one of 20 global experts currently on the Climate Crisis Advisory Group, which is dedicated to integrating scientific insights into policy and economic strategies to create a sustainable planet.
“I am so impressed and inspired by the work that Dean Atekwana, Associate Dean Lubin, and the college's leadership team has done to support faculty and graduate students in the past few years,” Hill said. “I am excited to continue that important work in this role. I am truly looking forward to supporting faculty and graduate students across the diverse disciplines of Letters and Science.”
During her time in the position, Lubin oversaw the administration of many new faculty grants and awards, including the L&S Unites Initiative, the Incentives for Large Grant Proposals program, the Dean’s Faculty Fellows program and the Regeneration Research Program Grants, among others.
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