"We are delighted that Sandro Duranti will be the next dean of social sciences at UCLA," said Jonathan Varat, professor of law and former dean of UCLA's School of Law, who chaired the search committee for the post. "He impressed us with his intellect, his collegial spirit, his energy and his commitment to the division of social sciences. A multifaceted scholar with a broad perspective and an inclusive approach, he will offer effective, valuable leadership in a period of great challenge and opportunity."
The appointment is effective July 1.
A member of UCLA's anthropology faculty for more than two decades, Duranti has served for the past two years as the department's chair and for the past decade as director of the UCLA Center for Language, Interaction, and Culture. He is a past recipient of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, the UCLA Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award and the American Anthropological Association/Mayfield Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching of Anthropology. In 2008, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Duranti has held visiting appointments at several universities outside the U.S., including the Australian National University, France's Ècole des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, the University of Vienna, the University of Bologna, the University of Padua and the University of Rome. He has been president of the Society for Linguistic Anthropology, a member of the executive committee of the American Anthropological Association and the editor of two journals: Pragmatics and the Journal of Linguistic Anthropology. His research interests include political discourse, language as a non-neutral medium and the role of improvisation in jazz, speechmaking and everyday interaction.
"I'm honored by this appointment, and I look forward to closely working with so many talented individuals and excellent departments and programs," Duranti said. "Because of their strength and inspiring tradition, the social sciences at UCLA are in an ideal position to face the current economic challenge and turn it into an opportunity to rethink our mission and our place in the contemporary local and global world."
A native of Rome, Duranti holds a laurea in lettere moderne from the University of Rome "La Sapienza" and a Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Southern California. He is credited with more than 100 publications, including five books and several edited volumes.
Duranti will replace Reynaldo F. Macías, who has served as acting dean since Jan. 1, 2007.
The UCLA Division of Social Sciences houses 19 programs and departments, ranging from Afro-American studies to women's studies, and 20 research centers. Eleven additional programs and centers are affiliated with the division.
The deans of UCLA's College of Letters and Science act together as a cabinet for planning, budgeting and decision-making. The college's four other divisions are: humanities, life sciences, physical sciences and undergraduate education.
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