Jul 13, 2021

Dear colleagues,

On behalf of Chancellor Gillman, it is my privilege to announce the appointment of Jon Gould as dean of UCI’s School of Social Ecology, effective Jan. 1, 2022.

Professor Gould currently serves as Foundation Professor and director of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Arizona State University. In this role, he is responsible for program content, recruitment, budget, strategic planning, community outreach and human resources. Under his leadership since 2020, the school has increased enrollment and faculty recruitment and has introduced new initiatives including a Diverse Perspectives on Justice program, a master’s program and six certificate programs.

Prior to ASU, he was the inaugural director of the Washington Institute for Public Affairs Research and chair of the Department of Justice, Law and Criminology at American University from 2011-19. From 1999-2010, he was a professor and director of the Center for Justice, Law and Society at George Mason University.

An internationally known expert on justice policy, social change and government reform, Professor Gould was the principal investigator for the Preventing Wrongful Convictions Project, a multi-year research initiative funded by the National Institute of Justice. He has authored five books and more than 100 articles and reports on diverse subjects including erroneous convictions, indigent defense, prosecutorial innovation, police behavior, hate speech, sexual harassment and international human rights.

Professor Gould has served in a range of government leadership roles including senior policy advisor in the U.S. Department of Justice and director of the Law and Social Sciences Program at the National Science Foundation. In 2015, U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts appointed him as reporter for a committee of the federal courts evaluating the operation of the Criminal Justice Act. He is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation, a former U.S. Supreme Court Fellow, and a former trustee of the Law and Society Association. Professor Gould received the Administration of Justice Award from the U.S. Supreme Court Fellows Association in 2017.

I am grateful to the search committee and its chair, Elizabeth Cauffman, professor, psychological science, for their contributions to this nationwide search. In addition, I would like to extend my appreciation to Mona Lynch who is currently serving as interim dean.

We look forward to welcoming Professor Gould to UCI.

Sincerely,

Hal Stern
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor
Chancellor’s Professor, Department of Statistics