Q&A with new Dean of Humanities Alexandra Minna Stern
University of Michigan
Beginning Nov. 1, Alexandra Minna Stern will become the new dean of the UCLA Division of Humanities. The former associate dean for the humanities and the Carroll Smith-Rosenberg Collegiate Professor of American Culture at the University of Michigan, Stern is a nationally recognized expert on the history of eugenics, genetics, society and justice in the United States and Latin America.
Stern will succeed Dean David Schaberg, who held the role since 2011 and will return to teaching and research full time after a sabbatical.
As she prepares to return to the UC system — Stern is an alumna of UC San Diego (a master’s degree in Latin American studies) and a former faculty member of UC Santa Cruz — she spoke about this new chapter for both her and the UCLA College.
What does it mean to you to lead the UCLA Division of Humanities?
It is a great honor to follow in the footsteps of Dean David Schaberg, who has managed the division with a steady hand and a capacious, inspiring vision of the humanities. For me, this is both a return home to California, where I grew up and lived many years before my two decades in the Midwest, and a new adventure in a city where I have never resided, but am eager to explore. I am excited to join my counterpart deans in the College and the leadership team at the university. I am deeply committed to public higher education and I can’t imagine a better place to pursue transformational work than UCLA.
What qualities of this division make it so special and impactful?
UCLA Humanities is an extraordinary division with talented, diverse faculty whose research encompasses a wide range of topics, chronologies, regions and approaches. The division is very interdisciplinary, which has allowed it to lead in many areas, including digital humanities and urban humanities. By virtue of being located in the vibrant and dynamic city of Los Angeles, humanities at UCLA has been public-facing, both contributing to and benefiting from an amazing artistic, cultural and creative milieu. The sum total of UCLA’s humanities appeals greatly to me and resonates with my vision of engaged humanities in the 21st century.
What are your top priorities as dean?
My priorities will evolve over time, as I familiarize myself with the humanities community and the university as a whole. Generally speaking, I will seek to maintain strength in longstanding areas and energize new initiatives. For example, I want to ensure the viability of global languages, including less commonly taught languages, and build capacity for experimental programs such as health humanities and disability studies. As a fierce advocate for the humanities, I welcome the opportunity to demonstrate the relevance of the humanities to the pressing questions of humanity, society, democracy and culture today. I am keen to enhance the entire humanities community — students, staff, faculty and alumni — and to work together toward shared goals, retaining my signature optimism without negating the serious challenges faced by the humanities in our current moment.
What keeps you inspired and passionate about your work and field?
Much of my research has focused on the history and legacy of eugenics, especially in California, and I am actively involved in projects related to reproductive in/justice, reparations and memory today. The lab I founded, the Sterilization and Social Justice Lab, which most likely will be based in UCLA’s Institute for Society and Genetics, works both with California state agencies to help verify sterilization survivors eligible for monetary compensation through the recently approved program and collaborates with activists and scholars on anti-eugenics projects that are community-based and guided by the tenets and goals of social justice.
Is there a little-known fact about you that we could share?
I spent much of my early twenties living in San Francisco and reading poetry at the Cafe Babar at 22nd and Guerrero, and that kind of creative energy sustains me to this day. Unfortunately, I have lost most of the poems I wrote during that raucous and heady period of my life. I frequently turn to poetry (in English and Spanish) for intellectual and emotional nourishment because of my love of language, metaphor, cadence and its irresistible sublimity.
What’s your favorite advice to share with students, or anyone else?
I believe active listening and humility can go a long way. Wherever or however we step into academia, we should strive to be lifelong learners. For me, leadership is less about giving advice and more about modeling and enacting empathy and advocacy within an interdependent and generative community.
I am thrilled to be joining UCLA and I look forward to getting to know the university community as I represent and advocate for the humanities on campus and beyond. Coming from Michigan, now a rival in the Big Ten, it will be quite an experience to morph from Wolverine to Bruin!
This article originally appeared in the UCLA Newsroom. For more of Our Stories at the College, click here.
