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.

Kathryn Olmsted, a professor in the Department of History at UC Davis, has been named associate dean of the faculty in the social sciences in the College of Letters and Science. As associate dean, Olmsted will provide oversight of academic personnel and faculty affairs for all departments in the social sciences.

Psychologist Dean Keith Simonton would have studied chemistry if not for an introductory textbook that would define his 50-year career studying greatness. Simonton will receive the 2024 Ernest R. Hilgard Lifetime Achievement Award for his work.