Faculty

Faculty in the Social Sciences provide an outstanding context for research and learning for more than 6,500 undergraduates and nearly 400 graduate students in 12 departments.  The student experience is enriched by faculty diversity, not just diverse in terms of race and gender but a faculty that demonstrates a diversity of talents, teaching approaches, and research interests.

Social Scientists bring new discoveries to the forefront: communicating critical perspectives on social, political, and economic issues that challenge contemporary society; providing communities and policymakers with alternative visions of how to bring about social change; and making connections between data and behavior. 

Faculty research vital issues such as globalization; the link between science, technology, sustainability and social policy; modes of conflict and communication within and between societies; and how the economy is affected by governmental decisions. The faculty's interdisciplinary approach to society, culture, economics, politics, ethnicity, and gender offers students a rich understanding of the world.

New Faculty 2023-24


  • Candice Lyons
    Assistant Professor
    Black Studies

  • Jessica López-Espino 
    Assistant Professor
    Sociology

  • Jigna Desai
    Professor 
    Feminist Studies & Asian American Studies

  • Renee Houston
    Teaching Professor 
    Communication

  • Caleb Luna
    Assistant Professor 
    Feminist Studies

  • Jiaying Liu
    Associate Professor 
    Communication

  • Tagart Cain Sobotka
    Assistant Teaching Professor 
    Sociology

  • Max H. Farrell
    Associate Professor
    Economics

  • David Silver
    Assistant Professor
    Economics

  • Nicole Cerpa-Vielma
    Assistant Professor
    Global Studies

New Faculty 2022-23


  • Nicole Thompson Gonzalez
    Assistant Professor
    Anthropology

  • Giovanni Batz
    Assistant Professor
    Chicano/a Studies

  • Silvia Rodriguez Vega
    Assistant Professor
    Chicano/a Studies

  • Yueyuan Ma
    Assistant Professor
    Economics

  • Daniel Martin
    Associate Professor
    Economics

  • Jane Ward 
    Professor
    Feminist Studies

  • Mae Miller-Likhethe
    Assistant Professor
    Global Studies

  • Christopher Parker
    Professor
    Political Science

  • Albert Rice
    Assistant Professor
    Political Science

  • Elena Raymond
    Associate Teaching Professor
    Sociology

 

    New Faculty 2020-21


    • Alexander Cho
      Assistant Professor
      Asian American Studies

    • Debanuj DasGupta
      Assistant Professor
      Feminist Studies

    • Vladimir Hamed-Troyansky
      Assistant Professor
      Global Studies

    • Kristy Hamilton
      Assistant Professor
      Communication

    • Celia Herrera Rodriguez
      Teaching Professor
      Chicana/o Studies

    • Ricado Jacobs
      Assistant Professor
      Global Studies

    • Tae-Yeoun Keum
      Assistant Professor
      Political Science

    • Dana Kornberg
      Assistant Professor
      Sociology

    • Yader R. Lanuza
      Assistant Professor
      Sociology

    • Daniel Masterson
      Assistant Professor
      Political Science

    • Muniba Saleem
      Associate Professor
      Communication
     

    Endowed Chairs

    At UC Santa Barbara, philanthropic support is central to maintaining the quality of teaching, research, and public service. One of the most important types of gifts to higher education is an endowed chair, which provides research funding and support for instruction that help us recruit and retain the world's finest scholars. You can review the current array of endowed chairs below.

    • Theodore C. Bergstrom
    • AARON AND CHERIE RAZNICK CHAIR IN ECONOMICS
    • Department of Economics
    • Aaron* and Cherie Raznick H ’88, Donors
    • Theodore C. Bergstrom, Raznick Professor of Economics
    • LEARN MORE
    • ALEC P. ALEXANDER CHAIR IN ECONOMICS
    • Department of Economics
    • Walter and Thelma Mead, Donors
    • Vacant
    • LEARN MORE
    • ANTON VONK CHAIR IN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
    • Department of Political Science
    • Anton Vonk, M.A. ’05 and Diane Boss, Donors
    • Leah Stokes, Vonk Professor of Environmental Politics
    • LEARN MORE
    • Eileen Boris
    • ARTHUR N. RUPE CHAIR IN THE SOCIAL EFFECTS OF MASS COMMUNICATION
    • Department of Communication
    • Arthur N. Rupe Foundation, Donor
    • Ronald E. Rice, Rupe Professor of the Social Effects of Mass Communication
    • LEAN MORE
    • J. Benjamin Cohen
    • BLAIR HULL CHAIR IN WOMEN'S STUDIES
    • Department of Feminist Studies
    • M. Blair Hull ’65, Donor
    • Eileen Boris, Hull Professor of Women’s Studies
    • LEARN MORE
    • Finn E. Kydland
    • JEFF HENLEY CHAIR IN ECONOMICS
    • Department of Economics
    • Jeff and Judy Henley ’66/H ’09, Donors
    • Finn E. Kydland, Henley Professor of Economics
    • 2004 Nobel Prize in Economics
    • LEARN MORE
    • Shelley Lundberg
    • LEONARD BROOM CHAIR IN DEMOGRAPHY
    • Department of Economics
    • Leonard* and Gretchan Broom, Donors
    • Shelley Lundberg, Broom Professor of Demography
    • LEARN MORE
    • LOUIS G. LANCASTER CHAIR IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
    • Department of Political Science 
    • Winifred H. Lancaster* H ’89, Donor
    • Vacant
    • LEARN MORE
    • Rod Garratt
    • LUIS LEAL CHAIR IN CHICANA AND CHICANO STUDIES
    • Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies
    • Individuals, Foundations, Corporations, and the Mexican Government, Donors
    • Aida Hurtado, Leal Professor of Chicana and Chicano Studies
    • LEARN MORE
    • Rod Garratt
    • MARK AND SUSAN BERTELSEN CHAIR IN TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY IN COMMUNICATION
    • Department of Communication
    • Mark '66 and Susan '67 Bertelsen, Donors
    • Joe Walther, Bertelsen Professor of Communication
    • LEARN MORE
    • Rod Garratt
    • MAXWELL C. AND MARY PELLISH CHAIR IN ECONOMICS
    • Department of Economics
    • Colonel Maxwell C. Pellish* and Mrs. Mary Pellish, Donors
    • Ryan Oprea, Pellish Professor of Economics
    • LEARN MORE
    • Victor Rios
    • MACARTHUR FOUNDATION CHAIR
    • Department of Sociology
    • John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur, Donors
    • Victor Rios, MacArthur Foundation Professor of Sociology
    • LEARN MORE
    • Jeffrey Stewart
    • MACARTHUR FOUNDATION CHAIR
    • Department of Black Studies
    • John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur, Donors
    • Jeffrey Stewart, MacArthur Foundation Professor of Black Studies
    • LEARN MORE
    • Rod Garratt
    • MELLICHAMP CHAIR IN MIND AND MACHINE INTELLIGENCE
    • Department of Economics
    • Duncan & Susan Mellichamp, Donors
    • Max Farrell, Mellichamp Professor of Economics
    • LEARN MORE
    • Rod Garratt
    • NORTH HALL CHAIR OF SOCIOLOGY
    • Department of Sociology
    • Waverly Duck, North Hall Professor of Sociology
    • LEARN MORE
    • Sabrina Strings
    • NORTH HALL CHAIR OF BLACK STUDIES
    • Department of Black Studies
    • Sabrina Strings, North Hall Professor of Black Studies
    • LEARN MORE
    • Rod Garratt
    • RICHARD F. ASTER JR. CHAIR IN ECONOMICS
    • Department of Economics
    • Richard F. Aster Jr., Donor
    • Mitch Hoffman, Aster Professor of Economics
    • LEARN MORE
    • Charles Hale
    • SAGE SARA MILLER MCCUNE DEAN OF SOCIAL SCIENCES CHAIR
    • Division of Social Sciences
    • SAGE Publications, Inc., Donor
    • Charles R. Hale, SAGE Professor and Dean of Social Sciences
    • LEARN MORE
    • WALTER J. MEAD CHAIR IN ECONOMICS
    • Department of Economics
    • Walter and Thelma Mead, Donors
    • Vacant
    • LEARN MORE
    • MELLICHAMP CHAIR IN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
    • Department of Chicana/o Studies
    • Duncan & Susan Mellichamp, Donors
    • Vacant
    • WILCOX FAMILY CHAIR IN ENTREPRENEURIAL ECONOMICS
    • Department of Economics
    • Wilcox Family, Donors
    • Daniel Martin, Associate Professor of Economics