Irvine, Calif., July 17, 2002 -- Barbara Anne Dosher, a UC Irvine professor and chair of the Department of Cognitive Sciences, has been named dean of the UCI School of Social Sciences, effective Sept. 23, 2002.

Dosher is a nationally known expert on the mechanics of information retrieval in human memory, perceptual learning and attention.

"Barbara Dosher is an active scholar and researcher who brings strong administrative leadership experience to this position," Chancellor Ralph J. Cicerone said. "She will guide the School of Social Sciences at UCI very well."

As dean of social sciences, Dosher will focus on raising local and national awareness of the school's research and educational programs, which are among the nation's finest; increasing the number of full-time scholarly faculty; and developing the resources to significantly enhance the academic programs and national and international visibility of departments and centers within the school.

"Campus growth provides an exciting opportunity to further develop the academic programs of the School of Social Sciences," Dosher said. "I look forward to creating partnerships with the faculty, staff and students of the school and with the wider campus and community that will support innovation and excellence in both new and existing programs."

Dosher joined the UCI faculty in 1992, after serving 15 years on the faculty at Columbia University. Her current research is supported by the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Mental Health and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. She is a fellow of the Society of Experimental Psychologists and a former president of the Society for Mathematical Psychology. She has authored nearly 50 research articles and is on the editorial boards of research journals in psychology and in vision science. She is a member of the Institute of Mathematical Behavioral Science and a fellow of the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory.

She has served in leadership positions on numerous campus committees, including chair of UCI's Academic Senate (1999-2000), chair of the UCI Academic Senate Study Group on Academic Graduate Education (2000-01) and chair of the Universitywide Senate Committee on Academic Personnel (2001-02). During her year as chair of cognitive sciences, she oversaw a new faculty recruitment program, expanded efforts in graduate student recruiting and initiated several interdisciplinary projects. She received her bachelor's degree from UC San Diego and master and doctoral degrees in experimental psychology from the University of Oregon.

Dosher replaces Dean William R. Schonfeld, who has returned to the political science faculty.


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