Quick Take
UC Santa Cruz has appointed UC Berkeley executive dean Jennifer Johnson-Hanks as its next campus provost, with a start date of Jan. 1, 2027, Chancellor Cindy Larive announced last week. Johnson-Hanks, a longtime Berkeley administrator credited with improving advising and the first-year experience, will succeed a series of interim leaders following the 2025 departure of former provost Lori Kletzer.
UC Berkeley’s executive dean, Jennifer Johnson-Hanks, will become UC Santa Cruz’s next second-in-command. Her first day will be Jan. 1, 2027.
“I am just thrilled for the privilege of joining the UC Santa Cruz community!” Johnson-Hanks told Lookout. “UCSC is special in so many ways, with a unique history of research and teaching excellence grounded in values of creativity, openness, and justice.”
UCSC Chancellor Cindy Larive announced the appointment of the new campus provost last week, highlighting Johnson-Hanks’ reshaping of UC Berkeley’s advising programs in the College of Letters and Science and her improvements to the first-year experience for students. About 23,000 students and 780 faculty are affiliated with the college.
“Through a range of roles over 25 years at UC Berkeley, Johnson-Hanks has established a record of collaborative and transformative leadership in the service of excellent and inclusive public education,” said Larive in a statement. “She brings to UC Santa Cruz experience in academic leadership at the level of the department, college, and campus, both in the faculty Senate and as an administrator.”
Johnson-Hanks joined UC Berkeley in 2000 and is a professor of demography and sociology. Before she became executive dean of the College of Letters & Science in 2021, she served in various roles on faculty committees, including vice chair and chair of the Berkeley Division of the Academic Senate.
Johnson-Hanks will replace former campus provost Lori Kletzer, who stepped down in June 2025 after six years in the role. Interim Campus Provost Paul Koch took up the position in July last year and will finish his tenure at the end of June. John MacMillan, vice chancellor for research, will serve as interim from July 1 to Dec. 31, 2026.
UCSC spokesperson Scott Hernandez-Jason didn’t respond to questions from Lookout, including why Johnson-Hanks isn’t starting before January.
Earlier this year, UCSC launched an exploration of the school’s first-year experience, which is largely built around the university’s unique residential college system. Koch said the campus wants to modernize the system and ensure it’s meeting the needs of its students. He said the university is likely to continue the exploration phase of the project through the fall, or administrators could decide then to finalize the options.
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