January 26, 2005
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENT OF
GRETCHEN KALONJI AS SYSTEMWIDE DIRECTOR OF
INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT
The University of California is pleased to announce the appointment of Gretchen Kalonji, currently Kyocera Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Washington, to the newly–created position of Director of International Strategy Development for the UC system. She will be responsible for creating the first coordinated and comprehensive international strategy in UC history.
Kalonji will be based in Oakland at the UC Office of the President, but is expected to work throughout California and in many regions of the world, particularly in the Pacific Rim. UC President Robert C. Dynes said Kalonji's hiring is part of an "internationalization" strategy that is needed to keep the university competitive in the future and to enhance its role as a driver of economic progress.
"A top priority for the University is to bring a more strategic approach to its many international initiatives," Dynes said. "Professor Kalonji brings the right combination of scholarship and experience to help lead this important effort that will benefit not just the University of California, but the state and its economy as well.”
Among that experience is Kalonji’s remarkable track record in developing creative approaches to internationalization and to the transformation of science and engineering education. At UW, she has led a campus-wide effort to integrate collaborative international research activities into curricular pathways of students, across the disciplines and from freshmen to doctoral level. This initiative, entitled UW Worldwide, has been honored with multiple grants and awards, both in the United States and in partner regions. Over the past 10 years, Kalonji has been the principal or co-principal investigator on more than $19 million dollars of related grants.
Professor Kalonji’s work, both in materials science and in educational transformation, has been recognized by numerous awards and honors, including: the Presidential Young Investigator Award; the George E. Westinghouse Award from the American Society for Engineering Education; the Leadership Award from the International Network for Engineering Education and Research, and the National Science Foundation’s Director’s Award for Distinguished Teaching Scholars, the highest honor offered by the NSF. Professor Kalonji has held visiting faculty appointments at numerous universities and institutes around the world, including the Max Planck Institute (Germany), the University of Paris (France), Tohoku University (Japan), and Sichuan University and Tsinghua University (China). She serves on numerous national and international advisory boards and committees, particularly for projects and organizations focusing on innovations in education, equity and access in higher education, and international science and engineering. Prof. Kalonji has been called upon to give more than 115 invited lectures in institutions around the world.
"This is one of the most talented women engineers in the country who has turned her skills to developing international strategies, something which the University of California needs but doesn't really have right now," said M.R.C. Greenwood, UC Provost and Senior Vice President, to whom Kalonji will report. “The University of California will gain significantly from her background, experience, and the insights and energy she brings to her work.”
The UC Board of Regents approved a base salary of $192,000 per year for Kalonji, who will assume her new position effective March 1, 2005. In addition to her systemwide position, Kalonji is expected to receive a tenured faculty appointment in the UC.
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