University of California, Riverside Chancellor France A. Córdova today announced the appointment of Ellen A. Wartella to the position of Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost effective July 1, 2004.

"It gives me great pleasure to announce that Dr. Wartella has accepted my invitation to serve as UCR's Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost," said Córdova. "She brings a strong record of administrative and academiic accomplishments to UCR and we look forward to working with her."

Since 1993 Dr. Wartella has served as Dean of the College of Communication at The University of Texas, the largest and most comprehensive communication college in the country. Under her leadership, the College has become one of the most sought after UT Colleges among prospective students; the College's endowment has more than doubled; and College faculty, departments and programs have achieved national recognition for excellence. As a result the College has earned a reputation for high academic standards, innovation in the use of technology, creativity across and within disciplines, and strong industry partnerships.

"This is an incredibly exciting time to be joining UC Riverside," said Wartella. "I'm looking forward to playing an active role in helping shape its future and assisting Chancellor Córdova in achieving her vision."

In the role of Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, Dr. Wartella will serve as Acting Chancellor in the Chancellor's absence; will work closely with the Chancellor in the formulation of the campus vision and implementation of academic and administrative policies; will work closely with the Deans in recruitment and retention of faculty; will have responsibility for managing the daily operations of the campus; and will be the principal liaison to the Academic Senate.

The College of Communication established numerous initiatives and programs during Wartella's tenaure including the Telecommunications and Information Policy Institute; development of international contacts and relationships that resulted in the establishment of the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas and a Chair in international journalism as well as international exchange opportunities for faculty and students. She also strengthened advising programs and internship opportunities to enhance the undergraduate experience.

As an active scholar whose research focuses on the effects of media on child development; she held the Walter Cronkite Regents Chair in Communication, Mrs. Mary Gibbs Jones Centennial Chair in Communication, UNESCO Chair Holder in Communication, and Professor of Radio-Television-Film at the University of Texas. She has written and edited several books and has published numerous book chapters and journal articles on mass media and communications. Dr. Wartella is co-principal investigator on a five-year, multi-site research project funded by NSF and entitled Children's Research Initiative. She recently received the American Communication Association's Outstanding Service to the Academic Discipline Award. She serves on several national boards including the Decade of Behavior National Advisory Committee; the National Academies of Sciences Board on Children, Youth and Families; the Sesame Workshop; Kraft Foods Global Health & Wellness Advisory Council; and the National Educational Advisory Board for the Council of Better Business Bureaus.

Dr. Wartella earned her Ph.D. in Mass Communication from the University of Minnesota in 1977 and completed her post-doctoral research in development psychology in 1981 at the University of Kansas. Prior to joining the College of Communication at The University of Texas, she was a University Scholar and Research Professor at the Institute of Communications Research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; she has also taught in the Department of Communication at UC Santa Barbara and in the Department of Communication at Ohio State University.

The University of California, Riverside is a major research institution and a national center for the humanities. Key areas of research include nanotechnology, genomics, environmental studies, digital arts and sustainable growth and development. With a current undergraduate and graduate enrollment of nearly 17,000, the campus is projected to grow to 21,000 students by 2010. Located in the heart of inland Southern California, the nearly 1,200-acre, park-like campus is at the center of the region's economic development.